Smart irrigation in fruit growing
More fruit with less water
PlantData.Live listens to the water balance of your trees and turns it into concrete irrigation advice — plot by plot. Larger fruit, a better grade, not a litre of water too much.
Recognise this?
Guesswork about how much and when to irrigate. The need differs per plot, per soil type and per week — and you only find out afterwards whether you gave too much or too little.
Invisible drought stress slows fruit growth at exactly the critical moments. One size grade smaller quickly means € 0.35 to € 0.47 less per kilo.
Water is becoming more expensive and scarcer. Pumping and energy costs are rising, and extraction and irrigation bans make timing ever more critical.
What are you looking for?
More fruit with less water
Larger fruit and a better grade
Healthier trees, less disease pressure
How does PlantData.Live help?
Detect water stress immediately
See at once, with a dendrometer on the trunk, when a tree is short of water — and when irrigation is not needed, so you never give a litre too much.
Steer your irrigation plot by plot
Track soil moisture, microclimate and the water balance of your trees in a single portal and decide plot by plot — remotely too. You can also have the valves controlled automatically.
Back up your growing decisions
Compare growth rates and get automatic suggestions that connect weather, soil and tree.
Case study: knowing when not to irrigate
Water is always scarce — whether it comes from deep underground or from a winter buffer. The biggest gain often lies not in irrigating more, but in knowing when it is precisely not needed.
Research shows that the same fruit yield is possible with up to 27% less irrigation water. At the same time, apple and pear growers in the Low Countries leave an estimated 20 tonnes of fruit per hectare on the table — yield that, with the right timing, is actually harvested.
"Thanks to PlantData.Live, we can see when we don't need to irrigate. Water is always scarce, whether it comes from deep underground or from a winter buffer."
Frequently asked questions about irrigation in fruit growing
What do you do during an irrigation or extraction ban?
During a ban you may temporarily not pump water from certain watercourses or sources; the rules differ by province and municipality, so always follow the current measures. Every litre you still have, from a basin or winter buffer, should then go to the plot that needs it most. Continuous measurements of water stress and soil moisture show per plot which trees ask for water first and which can hold out a little longer. That way you allocate your reserve on data rather than on gut feeling.
When should you irrigate fruit trees?
Not on a fixed schedule, but when the tree starts to run short of water, ideally just before. In apple and pear, the cell division phase after flowering and fruit growth in summer are the most sensitive; in stone fruit, the period around pit hardening needs extra attention. A dendrometer often shows water stress days before you see anything on the leaves; soil moisture sensors show how much water is available in the root zone.
How much water do you save with sensor-based irrigation?
Research shows that the same fruit yield is possible with up to 27% less irrigation water. The saving comes mainly from irrigation rounds you skip because the measurements show the tree does not need the water.
What is the difference between a soil moisture sensor and a dendrometer?
A soil moisture sensor measures how much water is in the soil; a dendrometer measures how the tree itself responds, through micrometre fluctuations in trunk diameter. Soil moisture tells you what is available, the dendrometer whether the tree actually takes it up. Together they give the full picture.
Does it work with drip irrigation and fertigation?
Yes. The measurements tell you when and how much water a plot needs, whether you work with drip irrigation, micro-sprinklers or fertigation. If you also want the valves controlled automatically, that is possible per circuit: see irrigation control with soil moisture sensors.
Curious what smart irrigation could do for your orchard?
Request a demo or call +32 (0)53 36 30 21