Hitachi Vantara and Golden Grove Nursery in Australia have applied artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and sensor technology to inform data-driven irrigation water management practices for sustainable, environmentally friendly food production.
Hitachi Vantara is the modern infrastructure, data management and digital solutions subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), while Golden Grove Nursery are the dominant supplier of citrus nursery trees to the Queensland citrus industry in Australia.
Golden Grove has installed a combination of weight scales, soil moisture sensors, and analytics developed for horticulture use by Hitachi Vantara, Greenlife Industry Australia, Applied Horticulture Research, and ICT International. It measures and assesses moisture content in the growing media of pots, as well as crop water use, to provide insights that inform practices such as irrigation and fertilisation decisions. The implementation includes a free-standing weather station to monitor the microclimate and a range of pH, temperature, soil moisture, weight, and electrical conductivity sensors to monitor water quality and leachate.
“The best production nurseries have the best water. With this project we are using the power of data to improve our irrigation management processes which will, in turn, reduce the overheads of water usage, improve environmental outcomes, and ensure we maintain compliance with regulatory requirements,” said Wayne Parrm, Golden Grove Nursery Director.
Water is automatically sampled and tested every 15 minutes, instead of the manual process Golden Grove used twice a week over 30 years. Sensors have replaced bottles dipped into the dam and fingers poked into a pot. Real-time data is uploaded to the cloud and presented on one screen – the Hitachi Supply Chain Control Tower, modified to holistically measure production nursery productivity and environmental stewardship by integrating sensor data, weather forecasts, and biophysical models. Within months of implementation, the nursery improved its irrigation practices by 30%.
“It is a privilege to support both sustainability and operational efficiency objectives in tandem, in an industry like agriculture and horticulture that has such a direct impact on society. Golden Grove Nursery make critical data-driven decisions that solve pressing challenges like modernising to remain competitive whilst protecting the land and surrounding waterways and fostering sustainability in food production practices,” said Maggie Laird, Hitachi Vantara Senior Vice President of Business Transformation and Sustainability.
A Legacy of Innovation and Technology Adoption
Queensland contributes 20% of Australia’s citrus industry, the country’s largest fresh fruit exporting industry, which sends up to AU$540M worth of citrus around the world, annually. Golden Grove produces between 200,000 - 250,000 citrus nursery trees per year, supplying up to 70% of Queensland’s citrus growers and commercial orchards.
“We’re now able to monitor the irrigation systems daily and understand exactly when to water so we can avoid root damage and make sure the nutrient mix is just right. We’ve already been able to identify and adjust for over watering during the winter months of 2022, and through this summer with irrigation much more firmly under control,” said Parr.
For more information:
Eunice Lam
Hitachi Vantara
Tel:+44 772 140 3277
Email: [email protected]
www.hitachi.com