How Origem Verde remotely manages irrigation across 50 hectares of melon in the Alentejo
In the Baixo Alentejo, near Beja, the heat that makes Alentejo melon one of the sweetest in Portugal is also the heat that gives no respite to the people who grow it. For much of the season temperatures run high, and if irrigation falls behind or fertilisation is poorly adjusted, the plant feels it straight away.
This is where Origem Verde operates, the farm run by André Ramalho, who grows around 50 hectares of melon, watermelon, pepper and squash.
A demanding crop in Portugal’s leading farming region
The Alentejo accounts for close to half of mainland Portugal’s farmland. The arrival of irrigation turned the Baixo Alentejo into a benchmark region for horticulture, with melon among its characteristic crops and a production increasingly geared towards the market and export.
Drip irrigation under plastic mulch is the usual technique: it delivers water and nutrients straight to the plant and cuts down evaporation and weed growth.
Melon and watermelon are sensitive crops that need water and nutrition at exactly the right moment and, given the Alentejo’s climate, that margin here is narrow.
The challenge: adjusting irrigation without having to be in the field
Before the system was digitalised, every change to the irrigation meant a trip out to the plot. What Origem Verde was after was greater precision and the ability to react: managing irrigation times sector by sector, adjusting them on the spot without going to the plot, and gaining more control over fertigation.
“ We can be growers from a distance, manage the field from a distance, and that leaves us more time to really look after the commercial side and to keep track of things: watching the crop, spotting a pest or a disease that might be appearing. ” — André Ramalho, Origem Verde
The solution: irrigation and fertilisation control from a phone
To digitalise the farm, Origem Verde works with Magos Irrigation Systems, a company that designs, installs and services irrigation systems and that integrated Spherag technology into the existing irrigation infrastructure.
At the irrigation head unit, an Atlas 4 was installed to control the pump, the two dosing pumps and the fertiliser agitator. Out in the field, around a dozen more Atlas units were placed on the valves to control and monitor the different irrigation sectors. The whole drip installation runs on Rivulis tape.
With that in place, André manages irrigation and fertilisation from an app on his phone or computer:
“ It lets us have an app on the phone or on the computer at home at all times, so we can change and adjust the irrigation and the fertilisation schedules. It makes things so much easier for us. ” — André Ramalho
An installation that follows crop rotation
Melon is a crop that calls for rotation: plots move from one season to the next to look after the soil. This is where the way Spherag is installed works in the grower’s favour. Because the system is solar-powered and has no buried cabling or antennas, the Atlas devices can be relocated from one year to the next without any civil works.
Results: faster decisions and better use of water, energy and fertiliser
The difference shows above all in day-to-day work. Being able to open, close and adjust each sector remotely means faster decisions and extra time for everything else: following how the crop develops, catching a pest or disease early, and handling the commercial side.
When something goes wrong in the irrigation system — a burst pipe, for instance — seeing it and acting quickly keeps it from turning into lost irrigation hours or a poorly watered part of the crop.
Magos also points out that the Spherag solution allows irrigation to be adapted to the crop’s needs as the season progresses and the weather changes.
On the impact, grower and installer agree: more production, better product quality and more efficient use of irrigation, with no needless losses of energy, water and fertiliser.
Digitalising the irrigation and fertigation of a horticultural farm without replacing the whole infrastructure makes it possible to manage sector by sector from anywhere, react quickly to an incident, and adjust water and fertiliser to what the crop needs at each moment. In a region as demanding as the Alentejo, that control translates into time, efficiency and peace of mind.
Can fertigation be controlled remotely, not just irrigation?
Yes. In this case, the head unit controls the irrigation pump, two dosing pumps and the fertiliser agitator, so irrigation and fertilisation schedules are adjusted from a phone or computer, with no need to be in the field.
Does the irrigation system have to be rebuilt to digitalise it?
Not necessarily. The Atlas devices are placed on top of the existing infrastructure — at the irrigation head unit and at the field manifolds, where the sector valves are grouped — to monitor and control each sector from the platform.