In order to make agriculture more resilient to climate change, targeted irrigation of plants is beneficial. The actual water requirement depends on various factors, such as precipitation and the individual needs of the plant. As part of the DIRECTION project, the Institute of Plant Research (IBG-2) at Forschungszentrum Jülich and partners have developed a mobile phone app that runs a model based on real-time and weather forecast data to determine the water requirements of plants in the coming weeks. With this app, the Institute of Plant Research is providing a new tool for water management and an innovative contribution for overcoming the challenges of climate change.
The app was developed on the basis of data collected during field and greenhouse trials in Germany and Thailand. It is suitable for smaller, low-tech farms. Then the app was tested in eleven replicated field trials by farmers and universities, covering different years, provinces and crop varieties. Tests and applications in other regions of the world are still ongoing - in Vietnam, for example, the app is currently being trialed until the end of the year.
In addition to changing climatic conditions, the challenge for farmers was the lack of knowledge about how much water to use at what time to achieve the optimum yield. The results of the field trials with the app have shown that yields were higher, irrigation costs were lower, less water was needed because irrigation was more targeted, and the app is easy to use.
The research was based on the example of manioc cultivation. Cassava is an important crop in Thailand. It is essential for feeding up to 800 million people worldwide. It is now also cultivated by farmers as part of local bioeconomy concepts for the starch industry.
The app is open source and can be downloaded here:
https://cassavamodels.gitlab.io/direction-app/
Further information:
Partner in Thailand: The Center for Agricultural Systems Biology (CASB)
Contact Persons
Dr. Johannes Auke Postma
Head of research- Root Dynamics group
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG)
- Plant Sciences (IBG-2)
Dr. Andreas Müller
Coordination IBG-2, Head Scientific Management
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG)
- Plant Sciences (IBG-2)
Media Contact
Anna Tipping
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