Automating irrigation and fertigation for hydroponic strawberry production in Bulgaria
Source: VFD.com
Yet, already during his first production season, thanks to the properly selected automation and ONDO's agronomic expertise, he managed to achieve excellent results in terms of both crop yield and quality. Hydroponic growing requires precision with every irrigation cycle When growing strawberries in coconut coir substrate, water and nutrient management is a critical part of the production process.
The plants have a limited volume of substrate around their root systems and require frequent, precisely defined irrigation cycles, as well as precise control of the required EC and pH levels of the nutrient solution. For "Di Vi" farm, ONDO integrated a wired automation solution that controls the irrigation and precise fertigation across all 6 tunnel greenhouses.
Plant nutrition is managed through a three-channel FertiTANK precise fertigation solution, enabling automated and accurate fertilizer dosing and rapid achievement of the target EC and pH parameters of the irrigation water. © ONDO He monitors the status of the processes through the ONDO interface and receives immediate alerts whenever a problem occurs, while the system takes care of the frequent irrigation cycles, precision fertigation and maintenance of the target EC and pH parameters on a daily basis.
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.
