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We are in the company of Maria Pezone, Farm Technician of the Egiziaca Agricultural Society, in Giugliano in Campania (NA), which grows horticultural products for a total of 300 hectares in one year. Tomatoes, lettuce, melons are just some of the farm's productions. Different crops, with different needs and different problems, to manage over a vast area: this is the challenge Maria faces every day.
Certainly the fact that each plot has its own management-it is important to track what happened on each plot, to create a history to rely on when making decisions.
The amount of data that can be obtained from the field is immense, from all the information related to the various operations carried out by the machinery to that collected by the installed sensors. To be able to manage all this material efficiently, it is necessary to collect it in one place, centralizing the management of the data so that it can then be processed more easily. And this is precisely where the app xFarm, which makes it possible to manage data related to machinery, crop defense against pathogens, irrigation, and even administrative data, such as employee work hours.
Our customers are increasingly demanding zero-residue products. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need tools to help rationalize the use of plant protection products.
Tools such as insect traps and sensors, installed in the field for monitoring, and predictive models of trends in insect populations or fungal and bacterial diseases, which process data collected in the field. For example, on processing tomatoes we use these tools from xFarm to monitor diseases such as downy mildew and alternaria, and presence of harmful insects such as Spodoptera littoralis and Helicoverpa armigera nightshades.
When there is no risk of infection or insect attack, decision support systems, based on predictive models, indicate not to treat. At other times, however, they allow early intervention, which ensures that severe infestations are prevented, thus getting to the zero residual goal. Not treating, or carrying out fewer treatments, is not only cost-saving for us farmers, but also makes the production process more environmentally sustainable.
Definitelyirrigation. Especially in recent years, we have had to work with reduced water availability: rainfall has halved. Therefore, we have had to increase irrigation efficiency, providing water only when the crop needs it.In this case, Modulo Irrigazione, which allows you to implement an irrigation strategy and provides advice on when and how much to irrigate, has proven to be a very powerful tool. In doing so, we have reduced water waste as well as our environmental impact.
Managing is the key word: defense, nutrition, farm, cost. Avoiding giving too much or too little to the plants: that's why you need technology, which, if well used, helps so much. With objective data I make more informed decisions and manage the farm better in all respects.
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