Smart irrigation systems allows farmers and others involved with harvesting crops to optimize their water usage throughout the crop lifecycle. These platforms provide precise, live updates on usage levels—both in specific segments of land and as a whole—along with the ability to enable or disable irrigation systems remotely. Many smart irrigation systems provide scheduling features in which users can map out water cycles, as well as options to automatically increase or decrease sprinkler output based on weather and other environmental factors. With the data collected from this software, businesses can make informed decisions about irrigation to maximize water conservation and quality.
Smart irrigation systems often communicates with specially designed controllers or sensors from the vendor, or with commonly used hardware on the market. Used in conjunction with other agriculture software, such as precision agriculture and farm management systems, these tools can streamline farming processes while reducing environmental impact and labor costs.
To qualify for inclusion in the Smart Irrigation Systems category, a product must:
- Monitor weather, soil conditions, evaporation, and plant water use
- Utilize weather and site data to determine when and how long to water
- Adapt to seasonal weather changes
- Suspend water during rain, freezing temperatures, or high wind conditions
- Prevent overwatering
