The Universidad de Chile has undertaken projects in the country's drought-ridden Atacama region in order to optimize water resource management in the Copiapo Valley. 

The work, supported by the Agricultural Innovation Foundation (FIA), incorporates new monitoring and irrigation technologies in order to aid the area's high concentration of grape farmers and improve their competitiveness.

The FIA official in charge of the initiative, Juan Carlos Galaz, told www.freshfruitportal.com the efforts were carried out on several different levels.

"Firstly, the existing agroclimatic stations in the area were improved. There were already 13 stations throughout the valley and the project produced 13 more. Some were financed by the project and others privately so," Galaz said.

"Now there are 26 stations that cover the valley area.

"Information about the weather is important because it influences how much water is needed by the crops, in this case table grapes."

Galaz also explained farmers in the region had a tendency to start irrigating grapevines prematurely, just as they began to sprout, but the new sensors that have been developed monitor the movement of sap in the plant and tell the farmer how much water the crop needs at different times.

"The plant starts off drawing water very slowly during the initial period, but farmers were somehow over-watering." Galaz said.

"Because of this the plant will continue to demand higher amounts of water as demand is proportional to the amount it receives, but with this [the sensors], farmers realized they could save water if they provide it with the correct amount.

"The sensors that were placed to measure sap flow determined it was not necessary to water the crop every day and they could hold up just fine for a couple of weeks."

Galaz went on to stress the initiative was only the first step and would hopefully encourage producers to improve their equipment, which he said could be done over time with the technology's gradual implementation.

"The idea is to continue working in this direction. This was designed as a prototype so farmers could see that it worked," he said.

"Tests were carried out in a couple of fields and the idea now is that farmers will acquire this technology and implement it into their current equipment to make them more efficient."

"The price is variable; there are a range of sensors and they don't all need to be installed by all the farmers at once. There are sensors ranging from CLP$30,000 (US$54) to more sophisticated ones costing CLP$500,000 (US$904).

The Universidad de Chile team also worked on sensors for irrigation systems that allow computer monitoring to ensure they are working correctly. If there is a problem the system generates an alert immediately.

"Farmers are very enthusiastic about this technology and are willing to incorporate the whole system of sensors because they see they can make better use of water resources, and in terms of managing their business they will have more control over what is happening in the field with their plants and irritation," Galaz said.

Photo: FIA

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