Articles
DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATIC WATERING SYSTEM FOR PLUG SEEDLING PRODUCTION WITH ESTIMATION OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION BY WEIGHING
Article number
519_2
Pages
37 – 42
Language
Abstract
An automatic watering system for controlling the moisture level of soil-mix in a plug tray was developed and used for tomato plug seedling production.
Plug trays with a volume of 1.4 L/tray were used for the experiment.
The plug sheets were placed on a bench with an ebb-and-flood circulating watering system.
A plug sheet at the center of the bench was weighed with an electric balance by suspending it from a steel frame.
When the amount of integrated evapotranspiration of the plug sheet estimated from a decrease in weight of the plug sheet reached over a setpoint of 500 g/tray during the daytime, all the plug sheets were watered from below.
After the water in the bench was drained, the amount of integrated evapotranspiration was reset to zero.
In this way, fluctuations in the moisture level of the soil-mix were controlled within the range of the setpoint during the experiment period.
Plug trays with a volume of 1.4 L/tray were used for the experiment.
The plug sheets were placed on a bench with an ebb-and-flood circulating watering system.
A plug sheet at the center of the bench was weighed with an electric balance by suspending it from a steel frame.
When the amount of integrated evapotranspiration of the plug sheet estimated from a decrease in weight of the plug sheet reached over a setpoint of 500 g/tray during the daytime, all the plug sheets were watered from below.
After the water in the bench was drained, the amount of integrated evapotranspiration was reset to zero.
In this way, fluctuations in the moisture level of the soil-mix were controlled within the range of the setpoint during the experiment period.
Authors
T. Shibuya, M. Nakahara, T. Kozai
Keywords
cbb and flood, integrated evapotranspiration, soil-mix moisture
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