ONDO automates irrigation and precision fertigation in 6 tunnel greenhouses for hydroponic strawberry production near Popovo
ONDO has completed a comprehensive project for the installation of an irrigation system and the automation of irrigation and precision fertigation at the “Di Vi” farm near the town of Popovo, where a total of 2.4 decares of strawberries are grown hydroponically in coconut coir grow bags across 6 tunnel greenhouses.
The project is interesting not only because of the high requirements that this growing technology places on irrigation and plant nutrition. The farm owner entered agriculture without previous practical experience in the sector. Yet, already during his first production season, thanks to the properly selected automation and ONDO’s agronomic expertise, he managed to achieve excellent results in terms of both crop yield and quality.
Hydroponic growing requires precision with every irrigation cycle
When growing strawberries in coconut coir substrate, water and nutrient management is a critical part of the production process. The plants have a limited volume of substrate around their root systems and require frequent, precisely defined irrigation cycles, as well as precise control of the required EC and pH levels of the nutrient solution.
For “Di Vi” farm, ONDO integrated a wired automation solution that controls the irrigation and precise fertigation across all 6 tunnel greenhouses. Plant nutrition is managed through a three-channel FertiTANK precise fertigation solution, enabling automated and accurate fertilizer dosing and rapid achievement of the target EC and pH parameters of the irrigation water.
As part of the project, ONDO implemented not only the automation system but also the complete drip irrigation system in the greenhouses, using external drippers.
Alarms are critical in case of water source issues
One of the specific challenges at the farm is related to the water supply. Water is provided from a borehole, but the supply is not always consistent. In addition, the presence of sand in the water requires appropriate filtration in order to protect the drip irrigation system and ensure its reliable operation.
In hydroponic production, this is particularly critical. Frequent irrigation cycles are an integral part of the growing technology, which means that an interruption in the water supply or a missed irrigation cycle requires a rapid response.
This is where ONDO’s alarm system has proven especially valuable to the customer. If there is an issue with irrigation/fertigation execution, the owner receives a notification right on his phone and can immediately investigate and take the necessary action. In this way, the automation system does more than simply execute predefined irrigation schedules – it also enables continuous monitoring of the reliability of the entire process.
Fully automated process management
Despite the complexity of the technology, the day-to-day operation of the system is easy for the customer. Through the ONDO interface, the farm manager monitors the key operational parameters of the farm – alarms, irrigation execution, moisture levels, and the EC and pH of the irrigation water. The processes themselves, however, are controlled automatically by the system.
This allows his time to be effectively redirected towards other important farm activities, sales and business development. For a new grower, this is particularly important, as automation removes the need to manually perform one of the most time-consuming and, at the same time, most precision-demanding activities in the production process.
Not just automation, but agronomic expertise as well
The hydroponic strawberry production system is complex, and simply having the right equipment is not enough to achieve good results. The automation solution must be properly configured from the outset in line with the crop, the plant development stage and the specific production technology. The owner of “Di Vi” contacted ONDO following recommendations from acquaintances who drew his attention both to the company’s automation solutions and to the agronomic expertise of the ONDO team.
It is precisely this combination of technological solutions and specialised know-how that has proven particularly important for a grower entering agriculture for the first time. ONDO supported the customer not only with the implementation of the equipment, but also with the proper configuration of the system according to the requirements of the crop being grown.
Modern technology without a large upfront investment
For the implementation of the project, “Di Vi” uses the Start Growing business model offered by ONDO to agricultural producers in Bulgaria. Start Growing enables growers to implement professional automation without the need for a large upfront investment. Instead of paying the entire cost of the technology at the beginning – which can often be difficult when establishing a new farm – the model allows the investment to be spread across small monthly payments.
A successful first season for a new grower
The “Di Vi” project is a good example of how the right combination of technology, automation and agronomic expertise can significantly simplify the entry into a technologically demanding type of production.
Only one season after starting his farming activity, the owner already has a system that automatically manages some of the most critical processes in hydroponic strawberry production.
He monitors the status of the processes through the ONDO interface and receives immediate alerts whenever a problem occurs, while the system takes care of the frequent irrigation cycles, precision fertigation and maintenance of the target EC and pH parameters on a daily basis.
And already in the first year, the most important result is there – high-quality produce, good yields and confidence for the further development of the farm.
We thank “Di Vi” for their trust and wish them many more successful seasons with ONDO!
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