INDUSTRY NEWS
New data-led tool helps improve irrigation planning in ofi ' s
Australian almond orchards
The new Irrigation Decision Support Tool created by ofi is enabling highly-accurate irrigation , based on real-time data from monitoring equipment in orchards that ' s accessible on a single digital dashboard to inform irrigation decision-making .
THE almonds team at the Australian orchards and ingredients business ofi have developed a new digital tool to help make real-time , data-led decisions about water use . The Irrigation Decision Support Tool enables optimum accuracy of irrigation by pulling data from a range of monitoring equipment in orchards into a single digital dashboard available on a desktop , tablet or smartphone . Ofi ’ s subsidiary , Olam Orchards Australia Pty Ltd , has around 4 million almond trees planted across 13 orchards in New South Wales and Victoria . Knowing that first-class irrigation systems and monitoring equipment can only deliver optimum water savings when combined with informed decisions on how and when to irrigate , the team have been using data and modelling to anticipate the water needs of almond trees for more than 10 years . This new system marks the first time they have all their data needs in one place and at their fingertips , whether at their desk or in an orchard . With over 170 dam pumps and 3600 controllable valves across the
“
We
' re confident this will help save more precious water while we deliver year-round fresh almonds to customers worldwide .
- Pierre Morne Janse van Rensburg , ofi
orchards , the new tool offers multiple benefits to irrigation teams working to manage water efficiently at scale . It centralises and displays irrigation data from orchards in a visual dashboard , helping irrigation teams identify priority issues across the orchards and allocate resource accordingly . The tool pulls in data from a range of monitoring equipment , including weather stations , soil moisture probes and water pressure monitors . The dashboard includes an irrigation moisture function , which shows soil moisture data retrospectively and in real time , and a pressure shift function , which allows the user to see how long a valve has been open for and to identify blocked filters . During the project , the team updated the irrigation infrastructure in the orchards and gave irrigation controllers access to a mobile app which enables them to record issues with critical infrastructure in the field . This has allowed ofi to better identify pressure switches which were not performing correctly in monitoring water pressure in an orchard and take remedial action swiftly . The Irrigation Decision Support Tool project was a collaboration between the Australian operations , technical and technology teams . The aim is to conserve water across ofi ’ s almond orchards in Australia and the USA , helping to protect local landscapes and ecosystems through ever more efficient water use . To deliver this , ofi ’ s sustainability teams in the two hemispheres came together to set a target date of 2030 to have soil and plant moisture monitoring across the orchards and to reach irrigation distribution uniformity to 90 %. Continued page 9
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