New FieldNET tool provides tailor-made irrigation scheduling

The company says combining the FieldNET by Lindsay remote irrigation management platform with proven irrigation scheduling methods helps growers decide when, where and how much to irrigate, with recommendations customised for each field.

With the crop type, variety and planting dates entered, FieldNET Advisor tracks available soil water by combining a soil map, proprietary models of dynamic crop canopy and root growth, hyper-local weather data and the water-applied history.

It creates a high-resolution map showing the amount of water available to the crop across the field and forecasts the crop’s future water needs, as well as predicting when and where, without additional irrigation, the yield will begin to decline due to water stress.

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Variable rate irrigation

The service also calculates the amount of yield that would be lost due to this stress, which varies according to its severity and the crop’s development stage.

Variable rate irrigation prescriptions are then generated and continuously updated to account for actual and forecast weather, changing crop water requirements, and as-applied irrigation.

No additional hardware or sensors are required on pivot irrigators that already have FieldNET remote monitoring and control equipment installed.