This document summarizes several projects that received funding from the European Union to develop and demonstrate technologies for improving water and nutrient use efficiency in soil-grown crops. It describes 9 showcase projects from different partners across Europe that tested sensors, decision support tools, and other technologies for more precise irrigation management and reduction of overfertilization. The projects monitored soil moisture, nutrients, and plant parameters in various crops like tomatoes, peppers, olives and more to optimize fertigation according to real-time crop needs.

1. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme under grant agreement No 689687
Technologies to Improve Water
and Nutrient Use Efficiency in
Soil Bound Crops
Juan José Magán

2. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Introduction
• Fertigation of soil-grown crops is frequently managed based on the experience of
the grower and not on data.
• The supply of nutrients by the soil is not generally considered.
• This promotes overfertilization and nitrate leaching in combination with excessive
water application.
• Pollution of water bodies by nitrate.
• Un-necessary over-cost of fertigation.

3. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Participants in the task
• Most of the fertigated crops are grown in soil.
• High importance of technologies able to increase water and nutrient use efficiency
in soil-grown crops.
• This task of FERTINNOWA project for the exchange and showcase of technologies
for the improvement of efficiency in soil bound crops has had the highest
participation of partners:
1. Fundación Cajamar, FC (Spain, task leader)
2. University of Almería, UAL (Spain)
3. CICYTEX (Spain)
4. IVIA (Spain)
5. INIA (Spain)
6. APREL (France)
7. CAFS (Slovenia)
8. PCG (Belgium)
MEDITERRANEAN AREA
CENTRAL-EAST AREA
NORTH-WEST AREA

4. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Crops tested and growing systems used
The crops and growing systems managed in the different showcases where the
followings:
PARTNER CROPS GROWING SYSTEM
FC Pepper and fresh tomato Soil with sand mulching under greenhouse
UAL Pepper and fresh tomato Soil with sand mulching under greenhouse
CICYTEX Olive, processing tomato and nectarine Soil in open field
IVIA Citrus and persimmon Soil in open field
INTIA Processing tomato Soil in open field
APREL Fresh tomato Soil under greenhouse
CAFS Apple Soil in open field
PCG Zucchini Soil in open field

5. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Automatic irrigation system for soil-grown vegetable crops
(FC)
Objective:
• To demonstrate the viability of using a simple and affordable system for automatic
irrigation in greenhouse conditions able to adjust irrigation to crop water
requirements in a easy way.
Technologies showcased:
• Tensiometers with a switch connected to a controller programmed to emit an
activation signal towards the fertigation equipment of the farm.
• Ceramic cup suction samplers to measure the electrical conductivity of the soil
solution.

6. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Prescriptive-corrective management of nitrogen of soil-grown
vegetable crops (UAL)
Objectives:
• To demonstrate practices that improve management of N in greenhouse vegetable
crops grown in soil.
• To demonstrate that these practices can contribute to an appreciable reduction in
NO3
- leaching loss.
Technologies showcased:
• Prescriptive management: VegSyst-DSS
• Corrective management: ceramic cup suction samplers, on-farm sap analysis (in
petiole), quick determination of soil solution and sap nitrate concentration by
using LAQUAtwin nitrate meter

7. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Use of sensors and decision support tools to improve
fertigation management in soil-bound tomato crop (APREL)
Objective:
• To monitor soil moisture and nutritional level in soil and plant in order to fertigate
according to crop requirements.
Technologies showcased:
• For irrigation: Watermark sensor, capacitance probe, flowmeter controller
• For nutrients: Nitratest and auger method, ceramic cup suction samplers, PILazo
method (with Nitracheck reader), sap analysis (in laboratory), Dualex sensor

8. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Irrigation Decision Support Tool SIGAgroasesor (INTIA)
Objective:
• To demonstrate advanced technology that may be useful to farmers and advisors
to adjust the dose of irrigation.
Technologies showcased:
• DST-Irrigation, decision support tool present at sigAGROasesor platform of INTIA
• Validation with plant water potential measurements performed with portable
Pump Up pressure chamber (reference values of CYCITEX in Extremadura, Spain)

9. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Model for the prediction of irrigation and use of TDR probes
(CAFS)
Objective:
• To evaluate the effects of optimal irrigation in Slovenian climatic conditions by using a
irrigation forecast model.
Technologies showcased:
• Irrigation forecast model locally developed enabling calculation of soil water balance
based on weather information
• TDR probes for soil water content measurements to control prediction accuracy

10. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Use of tensiometer in combination with drip irrigation as
efficient irrigation technique (PCG)
Objectives:
• To demonstrate different irrigation systems and to compare them in relation with
water efficiency and production.
• To demonstrate that the use of tensiometers can be a handy instrument to
determine the frequency of irrigation.
Technologies showcased:
• Drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, irrigation tree, irrigation with drag hose
• Tensiometers

11. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Use of sensors and soil solution samplers for irrigation
management (IVIA)
Objective:
• To demonstrate to farmers and irrigation communities the utility of soil water content
sensors and soil solution samplers technology to increase the water and nitrogen use
efficiency.
Technologies showcased:
• TriSCAN-Sentek sensors installed to monitor soil water content at several soil depths
(20, 40 and 70 cm)
• Soil solution samplers installed at 40 cm and 70 cm depth
• RQflex equipment for quick determination of nitrate concentration in the soil solution

12. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Use of sensors and spatial variability for the irrigation
management in olive hedgerow (CICYTEX)
Objectives:
• To know the variability of the farm and select representative control zones.
• To carry out a more efficient irrigation management using a deficit irrigation strategy,
supported by measurements of plant water potential in two different control zones.
Technologies showcased:
• Spatial variability: massive sampling of apparent electrical conductivity of the soil
(Dualem), satellite images and thermal images taken from a drone
• Plant water potential measurements performed with Scholander pressure bomb

13. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Remote sensing of crop variability in processing tomato for
effective soil and water management (CICYTEX)
Objectives:
• To know the variability of the farm and select representative control zones.
• To evaluate different technologies to determine optimal water and fertilizer supply in
heterogeneous field areas.
Technologies showcased:
• Spatial variability: massive sampling of apparent electrical conductivity of the soil
(Dualem) and satellite images
• Soil analysis: Auger method
• Development of the crop: canopy images (CANOPEO application), canopy reflectance
(Crop Circle AC470)

14. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 689687
Thank you very much for your
attention