The controlled irrigation of bonsai in the field results in considerable water savings, we are going to develop it with the contribution of the study sent to us by our client Benjamín Palomo, owner of the nurseries Hatoen .
Also how the keys of circular agriculture can be applied to the cultivation of bonsai and thus favor the environment, mitigate the carbon footprint and make a sustainable crop.
Sensor controlled bonsai irrigation Plantae
After a year of installing the humidity, temperature sensors and flow meters applied to field irrigation , our client confirms that the control of the plants has been a real discovery:
- First for the water saving which is considerable as we can see in the attached graph. They applied 44% less irrigation, as a result of the humidity measurement system that marked the needs of the plant in real time.
- But most importantly: the health of bonsai . The vigorousness of its leaves and the good absorption of its root system prevent fungi or spots from appearing on its foliage.
- La oxigenación del suelo de la planta y la temperatura del subsuelo es la idónea para que se desarrollen en un estado perfecto. La temperatura del subsuelo nos indica la salud del sistema radicular.
- The outside temperature sensor indicates whether we should protect it.
- The conductivity sensor assesses the accumulation of salts to prevent the formation of a crust due to evaporation that prevents oxygenation. Salinity also impairs nutrient absorption and bonsai is stressed.
- The flow meter measures the incidences of irrigation, in addition to controlling the amount of flow in the drip pipe.
All this is achieved by installing the sensors at various points in the plantation:
- Sensors / probes to measure conductivity and humidity at 30 cm.
- Moisture probes at 15 cm to adjust irrigation to soil water.
- In addition, several flow meters were installed to study the irrigation system at various points in the nursery.
Hatoen Nursery Features
We are in a nursery with special characteristics with more than thirteen thousand trees in cultivation, about 8,600 in soil and 4,500 in pots with one hundred and thirty different species.
Its totally ecological and sustainable production. Its caregivers in its entirety people who live in the proximity of the nursery.
The motto of the company is to offer quality at reasonable prices.
Circular cultivation of Hatoen bonsai
One of the biggest challenges they have in the nursery with intensive production is to introduce the circular economy in their cultivation.
We are talking about:
- Reduce : the amount of water and energy with the help of the sensors.
- Recycle : collecting all pruning and fallen flowers.
- Reuse : the residues are used to make natural fertilizers for bonsai.
The sensors are wireless and can be controlled by a solar powered hub.
Recycling is a system implemented in the nursery.
The number of Hatoen bonsai produces a fairly high amount of dry residue. According to studies from the nursery itself, a bonsai can produce a kilo of dry waste per year if it is in the ground and 100 grams in a pot.
We are talking about 9 tons / year and this cannot be wasted.
The way to recycle all this is to convert it into compost or humus and thereby re-fertilize the soil.
This compost is made by fermenting the dry waste with a degree of humidity so that microorganisms and enzymes are created that serve us to nourish the plants and favor the soil atmosphere while recycling the carbon accumulated in the litter.
Positive influence on the greenhouse effect
The carbon footprint was already an objective of study by Plantae. Every plant benefits the greenhouse effect, bonsai also as long as they are grown in a circular way.
Plants through photosynthesis and with the help of sunlight absorb carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and expel oxygen. CO 2 and the water it absorbs, with the help of chlorophyll and solar energy, is transformed into glucose. This is stored as organic matter.
By collecting all the waste, this organic matter and in it the accumulated carbon returns in the form of humus to the soil and feeds the plants, preventing the carbon from returning to the atmosphere. In this way the carbon in the environment is reduced.
An example of ecological and sustainable cultivation that should be a model for other outdoor or greenhouse farms
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