Abstract
• A low-cost, solar-powered IoT system was developed to monitor container crop EC • Correlation established between in-field EC sensor readings and pour-through method • At low EC, two to four EC sensors needed to achieve pour-through accuracy Substrate electrical conductivity (EC) is widely used in nursery production to assess the nutrient content of the growing medium and guide fertilization management for container-grown plants. While several methods can be used to measure substrate EC, the process is often time-consuming and labor-intensive, making routine monitoring difficult to implement. New technologies are needed to help streamline the EC measurement and recordkeeping process. Recent advances in sensor technologies and increasing adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) tools in agriculture have enabled the development of automated, real-time monitoring systems for environmental parameters, including substrate EC. In this study, a low-cost IoT system was developed and deployed under typical nursery production conditions to monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period. Manual EC measurements were also collected using the pour-through method to evaluate the relationship between sensor-based and conventional EC measurements under two irrigation methods (sprinkler and drip) and two fertilizer rates. Results of the comparison showed that sensor EC values were correlated with pour-through measurements under sprinkler irrigation, but no correlation was established under drip irrigation, likely due to uneven substrate saturation. Variation in the EC data was further analyzed to estimate the minimum number of sensors needed to achieve the same precision as the pour-through method. Results indicated that four sensors per 1000 pots are needed when using direct bulk EC measurements, and two sensors when using the Hilhorst method to approximate pore water EC. Additional sensors may be required to maintain this precision at higher EC levels.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Sensor EC values correlated with pour-through measurements under sprinkler irrigation in Lantana containers.
- Treatment
- sprinkler irrigatione0
- Outcome
- sensor EC valuese0
- Direction
- correlatede0
- Comparator
- pour-through measurementse0
LantanaOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sensor EC values were correlated with pour-through measurements under sprinkler irrigation, but no correlation was established under drip irrigation”
e1“monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period”
Claim · model-written summary
Sensor EC values showed no correlation with pour-through measurements under drip irrigation in Lantana containers.
- Treatment
- drip irrigatione0
- Outcome
- sensor EC valuese0
- Direction
- no correlatione0
- Comparator
- pour-through measurementse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sensor EC values were correlated with pour-through measurements under sprinkler irrigation, but no correlation was established under drip irrigation”
e1“monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period”
Claim · model-written summary
Four sensors per 1000 pots are needed to match the precision of the pour-through method when using direct bulk EC measurements.
- Outcome
- minimum number of sensors needed to achieve the same precisione5
- Value
- four sensors per 1000 potse2
- Qualifier
- direct bulk EC measurementse2
- Comparator
- pour-through methode5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period”
e2“four sensors per 1000 pots are needed when using direct bulk EC measurements”
e5“estimate the minimum number of sensors needed to achieve the same precision as the pour-through method”
Claim · model-written summary
Two sensors are needed to match the precision of the pour-through method when using the Hilhorst method to approximate pore water EC.
- Outcome
- minimum number of sensors needed to achieve the same precisione5
- Value
- two sensorse3
- Qualifier
- Hilhorst method to approximate pore water ECe3
- Comparator
- pour-through methode5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period”
e3“two sensors when using the Hilhorst method to approximate pore water EC”
e5“estimate the minimum number of sensors needed to achieve the same precision as the pour-through method”
Claim · model-written summary
Additional sensors may be needed to keep the same precision at higher substrate EC levels in Lantana containers.
- Outcome
- to maintain this precision at higher EC levelse4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“monitor substrate EC in container-grown Lantana crops over a 10-week period”
e4“Additional sensors may be required to maintain this precision at higher EC levels”