IMPROVED DESIGN OF AN AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION TRAY SYSTEM FOR OUTDOOR NURSERIES

In previous experiments, a new irrigation-control method based on an irriga-tion-control tray (ICT) for activating irrigation of outdoor pot plants was designed and compared with other methods (tensiometric method, water-consumption method, radiation method and a combined tensiometric-radiation method). In these experi-ments some difficulties were identified with the irrigation-control tray method, particularly the difference between the matrix potential in the plants on the ICT and the other plants grown. The purpose of this work is to improve the design to overcome these difficulties with the ICT method. We propose an algorithm and a practical method for facilitating adjustment of the ICT in each application situation.