Abstract
Effective water management in plug trays is critical for high-quality young plant production. While soil moisture sensor-based irrigation can improve irrigation efficiency, its application to young plants is constrained by the small size and high density of plug tray cells, which hinder reliable moisture sensing. We developed a load cell-based automated irrigation system that estimates substrate volumetric water content (VWC) from plug tray weight dynamics and evaluated its applicability for plug production. The system continuously monitored tray weight and estimated VWC relative to a saturated reference tray weight, which was updated after each irrigation event to account for plant growth. Estimated VWC closely matched oven-dry measurements (R2 = 0.9888, RMSE = 0.029 m3·m−3). In a trial with torenia, irrigation was regulated using three VWC thresholds (0.30, 0.45, and 0.60 m3·m−3) and compared with a daily irrigation regime. The system regulated irrigation according to the target thresholds, with the 0.45 m3·m−3 threshold achieving the best balance between plant growth and irrigation efficiency, indicating it as the optimal irrigation threshold for torenia cutting propagation. This approach provides a practical decision-support tool for precision irrigation and for determining crop-specific VWC thresholds, supporting growers in improving water-use efficiency while ensuring high propagation performance in plug production.
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Claims 4
Claim · model-written summary
Load cell estimates closely matched oven dry measurements.
ToreniaOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Estimated VWC closely matched oven-dry measurements (R2 = 0.9888, RMSE = 0.029 m3·m−3).”
e1“In a trial with torenia”
Claim · model-written summary
The system regulated irrigation according to target thresholds.
Not reportedValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The system regulated irrigation according to the target thresholds”
e1“In a trial with torenia”
Claim · model-written summary
The 0.45 moisture threshold best balanced torenia growth and irrigation efficiency.
- Treatment
- 0.45 m3·m−3 thresholde0
- Outcome
- balance between plant growth and irrigation efficiencye0
- Direction
- beste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 0.45 m3·m−3 threshold achieving the best balance between plant growth and irrigation efficiency”
e1“In a trial with torenia”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors identified 0.45 m3·m−3 as the optimal threshold for torenia cutting propagation.
- Outcome
- optimal irrigation threshold for torenia cutting propagatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“indicating it as the optimal irrigation threshold for torenia cutting propagation.”