%0 Journal Article
	%A Giacomo Barbieri
	%D 2019
	%J International Journal of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
	%B World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
	%I Open Science Index 145, 2019
	%T A Small-Scale Flexible Test Bench for the Investigation of Fertigation Strategies in Soilless Culture
	%U https://publications.waset.org/pdf/10009924
	%V 145
	%X In soilless culture, the management of the nutrient
solution is the most important aspect for crop growing. Fertigation
dose, frequency and nutrient concentration must be planned with
the objective of reaching an optimal crop growth by limiting
the utilized resources and the associated costs. The definition of
efficient fertigation strategies is a complex problem since fertigation
requirements vary on the basis of different factors, and crops are
sensitive to small variations on fertigation parameters. To the best
of author knowledge, a small-scale test bench that is flexible for
both nutrient solution preparation and precise irrigation is currently
missing, limiting the investigations in standard practices for soilless
culture. Starting from the analysis of the state of the art, this paper
proposes a small-scale system that is potentially able to concurrently
test different fertigation strategies. The system will be designed and
implemented throughout a three year project started on August 2018.
However, due to the importance of the topic within current challenges
as food security and climate change, this work is spread considering
that may inspire other universities and organizations.
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