Standardization of the Dimensions of a Portable Weighing Lysimeter Designed to Be Applied to Vegetable Crops in Mediterranean Climates

Abstract

The progress made in developing information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the fact that water resources are becoming increasingly scarce make precision agriculture a very valuable tool for efficient and sustainable crop management, particularly for irrigation and fertilisation. In line with this, the water balance estimate is considered one of the most accurate methods for estimating crops’ water requirements. The Agromotic Engineering and Sea Research Group of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain) has worked in this direction to obtain portable weighing lysimeters with improved functions compared to traditional measurement systems. This study analysed the most important vegetable crops in south-eastern Spain to standardise suitable dimensions so that these portable weighing lysimeters can monitor practically all of today’s vegetable and herbaceous crops in Mediterranean climates. The dimensions established for the cultivation tank are 150 cm long, 45 cm wide, and 50 cm deep, with an equipment resolution of up to 0.09 mm expressed as water lamina. The validation over seven irrigation events established that the structural system achieved here allows precise monitoring of the water exchanges produced in the cultivation tank, so this portable weighing lysimeter can be useful for the efficient management of fertigation.