A precision agriculture solution for water stress estimation in Hass avocado farms in Colombia

Abstract

Abstract Agriculture 4.0 technologies continue to see low adoption among small and medium-sized farmers, primarily because these solutions often fail to account for the specific challenges of rural areas. In this work, we propose and implement a design methodology to develop a Precision Agriculture solution aimed at assisting farmers in managing water stress in Hass avocado crops. This methodology provides a structured approach for development, enabling the identification of key issues and appropriate solutions. The resulting device measures essential weather variables for calculating crop evapotranspiration and effective precipitation, operates without requiring internet or electricity connections, and transmits data globally via satellite connectivity, overcoming the limitations of existing solutions for this crop. As a result, it can detect water stress and provide crucial information for irrigation scheduling. The proposed solution was tested at a working Hass avocado farm for over a year, collecting weather data and undergoing both major and minor revisions during the iterative testing process. The collected data—covering air temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration, and rainfall—has been made freely available to support further research and development.

Keywords

• Precision agriculture
• Hass avocado
• Space-based internet of things
• Evapotranspiration
• Water stress
• Irrigation scheduling