The top of a gutter that holds the substrate mats is never perfectly straight. Yet this is not the case for weighing gutter. For this reason, Wireless Value implemented this improvement in the weighing tray that they presented at GreenTech Amsterdam.
The new scale makes it possible to weigh up to three substrate mats per scale. Kees van Vliet shows that the gutter is extendable. "This provides growers with more flexibility in their cultivation choices, even when they are changing their substrate." And that is precisely what is happening as alternative substrates are becoming increasingly used. Such a switch also changes watering, a weighing gutter can then provide valuable insights.
Kees van Vliet (in white) explains the weighing gutter at GreenTech Amsterdam
When using the gutter, the drain water is collected and routed to a self-designed drain meter to accurately measure drain. There is also a separate drain meter.
The drain meter at the end of the gutter catches the water, and when the set volume is reached, the tray tilts. The number of times the tray tilts is multiplied by the volume of the tray, this provides the drain number.
Water uptake and evaporation
The aim of this update is to measure water uptake and drain as accurately as possible. "Because we now have this accurate data, we can exactly calculate the plant's water uptake," he says. Using the weighing units that also measure the plant, we provide insight into the relationship between watering and net biomass growth. Practical trials showed that there is actually a difference between the indicated gift per dripper on the climate computer, and the actual gift at the dripper.
Bas Visser, Managing Director: "By using these refined measurements, growers can better monitor water uptake and actual plant evaporation in the Wireless Value data portal. This data provides growers with the information they need to further optimize. In Mediterranean areas where fresh water is scarce, it helps to find the ratio between watering and drain."
A next step is measuring EC and PH. But first this upgrade will be installed in practice. The first two farms will start to use it during this summer.
For more information:
Wireless Value
Tel: +31 591 633200
[email protected]
www.wirelessvalue.nl