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It was 2011 when, together with my partner, we decided to open our farm. When we started to consider which crops to grow our attention immediately fell on small fruits and in particular blueberries. These are increasingly popular and there is more and more demand for them: they are a very healthy and easy-to-eat product. Today we cultivate 13 ha of blueberry orchards in the Campiglione Fenile area in the province of Turin. To ensure a large harvest period we grow 10 different varieties and are constantly experimenting with new cultivars.
The blueberry is an acidophilic plant that needs a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. What is more, having a rather shallow root system, it suffers greatly from water stagnation and is afraid of drought. These aspects make fertigation management one of the most critical aspects. Consequently, continuous monitoring of soil and environmental parameters is needed to have a quality harvest and avoid stress. Another issue arises at the time of harvesting, as it is done manually we have to make use of a large number of collaborators leading to some difficulty from a management point of view.
Before we came across xFarm , we tried other platforms for business management. However, none of them reflected our needs: some were impractical and lacked intuitiveness, while others did not meet our needs. In xFarm we found the answer to our problems: we first tried the free part, and then extended the use to include the pro part, especially the part related to the Irrigation, Assets, Finance modules in addition to the whole sensor part.
For irrigation management, we have chosen to use a very wide range of sensors. First of all, the weather station that allows us to control all environmental parameters (rain, temperature, wind...). We then installed several devices to control soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity. Specifically, we have a xNode Electro to control fertigation, a xNode multilevel to control moisture across the soil profile, and several xNode Soil Pro to control moisture in various areas of our plots. We now have constant monitoring of all these parameters and have information to help us in our decision-making processes.
It's not just a matter of monitoring. by setting watering strategies we receive a notification on our smartphone that reminds us when it's time to water and the volume of water to contribute. By doing so, we avoid water stress on the plant and avert issues related to waterlogging. In addition, through the electrical conductivity sensor, we are also able to monitor the presence of the right nutrients for the plants, thus ensuring the best conditions for them.
Since the collection is done manually, we have to make use of a large number of collaborators at certain times of the year. This makes the management and organizational part rather complicated, as well as the financial part. With the Assets and Finance modules of xFarm we are able to quickly plan the agronomic operations to be carried out, and we have a digital tool that allows us to manage the financial part effectively.
Ours is a multifaceted reality with specific needs, so expansion requires an extended period of preparation. In any case, in the coming years we count on growing production, with an increasing focus on sustainability. Certainly the technology of xFarm will continue to support us, allowing us to make the most of the water resources we have available.
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