Smart irrigation system developed by UK scientists ‘may boost crop yields’

A “SMART” precision irrigation system developed by UK scientists could cut water use and boost crop yields in parts of the world facing water shortages, they said.

The micro-irrigation system, which is being trialled on a farm in Tamil Nadu, southern India, has cut water use by up to 80 per cent and doubled the yields of some crops, the scientists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh said.

Local farmers’ knowledge on irrigation and soil for different crops is fed into a cloud-based system and is combined with localised weather forecasts and other information including soil moisture and grid outages.

These are used to continually refine an irrigation schedule which ensures eight crops – okra, lettuce, basil, basella, pumpkin, corn, rocket and long beans – get the right volume of water at the right time.

The scientists said the scheme was more effective than manual irrigation, and could also make it more financially viable for farmers to invest in solar pumps instead of relying on the grid.

In India, agriculture accounts for 90 per cent of freshwater abstraction, 18 per cent of electricity and 15 per cent of diesel use, while more than half of the country faces extremely high water stress and farmers are increasingly indebted due to volatility of crop yields and prices, the experts said.

Professor Eddie Owens, of Heriot-Watt University’s energy academy and the project’s leader, said: “These results are extremely encouraging.”