Drain water may be discharged to an increasingly lesser extent in the coming years. For soil-based crops this means that growers need to know how much water the soil absorbs: they can then adjust the watering accordingly. This can be measured with a lysimeter, but that is a complex method. The Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research is working on a virtual lysimeter that works with data and sensors. Researcher Joseph Stoenner: “It is nice to see how scientific research can help growers.”
Drain water is the irrigation water that is not absorbed by the crop. This water is often rich in nutrients; that is one of the reasons that it should not be discharged.
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