Netafim, the global leader in drip and micro-irrigation solutions for sustainable productivity, offers a beta version of its advanced crop management system, uManage, which has lowered water and fertilizer consumption by some 30% and 15%, respectively. The results were based on a recent pilot project involving dozens of farmers worldwide.
Netafim is currently launching the first commercial version of uManage worldwide. With uManage, farmers can compile and analyze plot-related data, as well as monitor and record irrigation/fertilizer performance and yield status. uManage also enables growers to analyze additional factors that impact on their crops, including wind direction, weather forecast, temperature, radiation, ground moisture and fertilizer. Communicating with irrigation controllers and field sensors, uManage updates data in real time, enabling farmers to remotely control their plots and plan their crop-growing protocol in advance.
“Over the past year, we conducted a uManage pilot involving dozens of farmers worldwide, including from the US, Israel, Italy, Holland, Brazil and France,” said Lior Doron, Netafim’s Director of Crop Management Technology. “The project showed how uManage facilitates their work, improves their crop quality and yield, and, above all, reduces their water and fertilizer consumption. We will soon be upgrading uManage with a decision support module that will advise farmers as to which crops should be given highest priority, while considering future parameters such as annual weather forecast. In this way, the system will actually optimize the farmers’ decision-making process.”
