Addressing the gap between what growers intend and what crops receive
Source: HD.com
Priva, active in climate and irrigation control for professional horticulture, and Nelson Irrigation, a trusted name in irrigation hardware, today announced a partnership that gives growers a more connected and precise way to manage water and fertilizer. Priva's platform uses real-time data from sensors measuring plant water uptake, substrate conditions, and climate to build irrigation strategies around actual crop demand.
The connection between the two systems means that for the first time, growers have a complete, verifiable record of every irrigation event. This integration with Priva allows growers to manage everything from one place, with the confidence that what they set is what their crops receive", says Evan Thompson, application engineer at Nelson Irrigation.
Growers report that this kind of precision, consistently applied over a full growing season, leads to meaningful reductions in input costs alongside improvements in crop uniformity and quality. Growers can monitor and adjust their entire irrigation operation remotely, respond to issues before they affect the crop, and free up time for the work that makes the biggest difference to their business.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
