The only company to provide actual evapotranspiration rates for crops has partnered with another California startup to help growers. Tule Technologies and HotSpot Ag offer growers the hardware and software tools they can use to simplify irrigation schedules and meet crop demands with reduced irrigation supplies.
The goals, according to Tule Technologies, are to offer a turnkey solution to improve irrigation efficiency by helping to save energy and water while improving crop yields.
Tule CEO Tom Shapland developed the technology which, instead of using crop coefficients and mathematical equations that estimate ET rates from fixed weather stations, provides actual ET rates, which may differ from the same crop across different microclimates and soil types.
“The actual ET is the amount of water used by a crop field,” Shapland continues. “When growers know how much water their fields use, they know exactly how much water they need to replace in that field.”
Tule Technologies provides the sensors that give growers their actual ET rates. HotSpot Ag allows growers to easily run irrigation schedules based on this information. HotSpot users can schedule recommended irrigation and monitor pump status, water flow and pressures in real time via their computer, smartphone or tablet.
Source: farmprogress.com
