Results
Results
The application of the treatments “IIMS Irrigation, AA” and “Empirical Irrigation, EA” was carried out in the pilot fields during the irrigation periods 2023 and 2024. The number of irrigations, the amount of water applied, the soil moisture, the production of fruits per plant (average of 6 plants) were recorded. The fruits were also analyzed for their quality in each handling of the parcels for the crops under study.
The table below shows the results of the 2nd year 2023 & 2024 (Average)
| Parameter / Crop | Number of irrigations | Water applied (m3/str.) | Yield (kg/str.) | WUE(kg/ m3) | |
| Olive | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 16 | 172 | 814 | 4,73 |
| IIMS irrigation (ΑΑ) | 20 | 154 | 900,0 | 5,84 | |
| Orange | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 30 | 643 | 3.627 | 5,64 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 33 | 480 | 3.592 | 7,48 | |
| Avocado | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 54 | 550 | 2.596 | 4,87 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 47 | 458 | 2.714 | 5,92 | |
| Kiwifruit | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 33 | 757 | 1713 | 2,23 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 36 | 544 | 1777 | 3,24 | |
| Peanuts | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 22 | 707 | 480,8 | 0,68 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 26 | 604 | 481,9 | 0,79 | |
| Potato | Empirical Irrigation (EA) | 23 | 129 | 2.587 | 19,9 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 14 | 103 | 2.495 | 24,3 | |
The amount of irrigation water per stemma applied was smaller and in the NIA irrigation two crops compared to the empirical
Production per hectare did not differ significantly (small differences) between empirical irrigation and precision irrigation.
Irrigation water use efficiency (kg/m3) was significantly higher in IIMS irrigation in all crops.
| Parameter/Crop | Fruit quality characteristics | ||||
| Mean fruit weight (gr) | Peal thickness (mm) | Soluble solids (brix) | Acidity% c.a. | ||
| Orange | Empirical Irrigation(ΕΑ) | 214,8 | 4,73 | 13,24 | 1,21 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 215,2 | 5,01 | 14,02 | 1,27 | |
| Parameter/Crop | Fruit quality characteristics | ||||
| Average weight (gr) | Dry matter(%) | Fruit height (mm) | Fruit oil content % | ||
| Αβοκάντο | Empirical Irrigation(ΕΑ) | 222,6 | 26,15 | 10,86 | 13,54 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 233,1 | 27,50 | 11.20 | 14,45 | |
| Parameter/Crop | M.W of marketable fruits (gr) | Hardness of the flesh (kg) | Sugars (Brix %) | |
| Kiwifruit | Empirical Irrigation (ΕΑ) | 114,0 | 8 | 6,3 |
| IIMS Irrigation (ΑΑ) | 112,5 | 8 | 6,4 | |
Irrigation treatments (EA, AA) did not significantly affect the quality characteristics of orange, kiwi, potato and peanut fruits, while in avocados and olives the qualitative characteristics were slightly better in IIMS irrigation than empirical irrigation.
The continuous recording of soil moisture at a depth of 15 cm. In all crops, it showed that in both manipulations the plants were not under water stress. In empirical irrigation the soil moisture was at saturation levels (part of the water is lost due to deep filtration), while in precision irrigation the humidity fluctuated at the levels of the available soil moisture, ensuring ideal conditions for the absorption of water by the active root system of crops.
Empirical irrigation
IIMD irrigation
The NDVI index in both manipulations ranged between 0.7-0.9 in all crops and satellite images indicate dense healthy vegetation.
The fluorescence measurements of chlorophyll Fv/Fm made in the evidence field avocado varietal. Lab Hass in Skines, Chania, both in the department with empirical irrigation and in the department with precision irrigation in 3 representative trees of each irrigation manipulation show that in both irrigation manipulations the plants were not found in a state of water stress
| MEASUREMENT DATE | SITE: Α2 AVOCADO | ΑΑ | ΕΑ |
| 08/07/24 | 0.84 | 0.83 | |
| 15/07/24 | 0.83 | 0.82 | |
| 22/07/24 | 0.83 | 0.82 | |
| 29/07/25 | 0.82 | 0.81 | |
| 05/08/24 | 0.84 | 0.79 | |
| 12/08/24 | 0.84 | 0.78 | |
| 19/08/24 | 0.83 | 0.79 | |
| 26/08/24 | 0.84 | 0.81 | |
| 02/09/24 | 0.83 | 0.82 | |
| 09/09/24 | 0.84 | 0.84 | |
| 16/09/24 | 0.84 | 0.84 | |
| 23/09/24 | 0.84 | 0.84 | |
| 30/09/24 | 0.84 | 0.84 |
From the results of water consumption, soil moisture, production, fruit quality and irrigation water efficiency, but also from the measurements of the normal function of crops for 2023 and 2024, it appears that with the implementation of the NIA, there is a significant irrigation water economy of 10.5% for olives, 25.4% for oranges, 16.7% for avocados, 28.2% for kiwi, 14.4% for peanuts and 20.8% for potatoes.
ZenAgro has created the IRRIZEN smartphone app for irrigation control. Application for remote control of irrigation
Environmental assessment
The environmental and social added value of the project was evaluated by the NOWASTE team, which estimated that if precision irrigation is applied to the 6 crops on all farms in Greece, the water economy will exceed 20.5% (or 276 million m3 of water) per year, the footprint for these crops will be reduced by almost 16,000 tons of CO2, due to a reduction in the required travel for irrigation and there will be an economy due to reduced movements of farmers for irrigation of more than 600,000 man-days of work.
