Tracking Soil Moisture Nets Returns For Citrus Grower

Orange-co, LP. owns and manages nearly 16,000 acres of citrus groves. The company is one of Florida’s leading citrus fruit producers, growing mainly juice oranges with some tangerines, and grapefruit. Needless to say, Orange-co knows the citrus business well.

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The company’s knowledge grew exponentially in 2002. It began using AquaSpy – an advanced solution that precisely measures soil moisture at various depths. It also provides weather station equipment to track rain fall, temperature, humidity, wind speed and barometric pressure. Using the AquaSpy solution, Orange-co found that it could dramatically reduce the amount of water it uses for irrigation (up to 30%), while improving crop yield and quality.

As a result, Orange-co now saves more than $250,000 every year on the diesel fuel that powers its irrigation pumps, engine wear and fertilizer used in the fertigation process. The company also enhances the quality and yield of its crops by knowing exactly when to irrigate and having the ablity to stress the trees during warm cycles in the winter, extending dormancy.

Harvesting Profits

AquaSpy installed 40-inch probes in Orange-co’s grove that provide moisture readings at depths of 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40 inches. Every 15-minutes of the day, the probes gather information about the soil and send it from the field to a computer using mobile phone technology. A graphical view of the data is then automatically uploaded to a website where it can be viewed from anywhere in the World. One of Orange-co’s first transmissions from the probes contained some extremely valuable data.

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“We discovered that we were watering too low, below the root system!” said Jerry Newlin, VP and Manager at Orange-co. “In this part of Florida, our root systems only go down 20 inches. So we cut back on running our diesel-powered irrigation pump by a third and got the same results. Conservatively speaking, we started saving at least $250,000 every year after that.”

Best Management Practices

The State of Florida and the University of Florida have developed a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for efficient use of water, irrigation and fertigation.

“AquaSpy has proven to be an excellent monitoring and compliance solution to help us with BMPs,” said Newlin, “Our use of water is consistently under the levels permitted by the State of Florida because of careful monitoring. By irrigating and fertigating our crops more efficiently, we are both saving money and helping to protect the environment.”

Maximizing Growth

Orange-co uses the site-specific data to create irrigation templates that can be followed each growing season. The company easily maintains correct moisture levels in the spring and summer to achieve the best possible fruit set and sizing in the fall and winter. The result is superior quality and yield with higher wholesale price potential.

“We now supply water to the trees when they need it,” said Newlin. “We can literally see how much the trees are drinking every 15 minutes. Having the water applied in a very efficient method has been awesome. We are going through a very dry time right now, and our grove looks great.”

This control also helps Orange-co maximize productivity by automatically monitoring dormancy. When the weather warms up and accumulative rainfall, temperature and soil moisture rise to certain levels, the company knows exactly when to stress the trees by letting them go dry. By keeping the trees dormant, they bloom better and ultimately produce more fruit.

“AquaSpy is great,” said Newlin. “Every citrus grower should be using this technology. It’s the key to not only some of our success, but could be a success story for the entire industry.”

For more information, visit the AquaSpy website here.

 

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