Project ADDFerti
ADDFerti: A Data-Driven Platform for Site-Specific Fertigation
Project duration: 42 months
Project start: 1st of March 2021
Project funding: ICT-AGRI-FOOD 2019 Joint Call, Call for transnational, collaborative, inter-/transdisciplinary research projects on ICT-enabled agri-food systems
Aim of the Project
The aim of the project is to design and develop a fully-automated ICT-based data driven platform for VRFI. The integrated solution will be based on novel soil sensing technologies, a hose-reel fertigation system, ICT infrastructure, algorithms and decision support tools. The solution will attempt to account for all nutrients and water related limiting factors on crop yield by implementing advanced data fusion tools to derive VRFI recommendations. The integrated hardware and software infrastructure has not only practical application by farmers but can also be used for future research projects around precision agriculture, soil and water management, and environmental soil threats. The successful implementation of ADDFerti is foreseen to increase farmers’ income return, due to increased yield at reduced N, P, K and water consumption, and that more fresh water will be available for human daily consumption. ADDFerti is also expected to reduce the amount of agrochemicals applied into the soil and ground and surface water resources.
Project Coordination
Prof. Dr. Abdul Mounem Mouazen
Professor of Precision Soil and Crop management
Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering.
Ghent University
Coupure Links 653, geb. B
9000 Gent
E-Mail: abdul.mouazen@ugent.be
Further resources
2021 ADDFerti Leaflet
2022 ADDFerti Flyer
Videos
Short description of the role of each partner in the project:
News
2023 Annual Meeting
Between 22. and 23. June 2023 the annual project meeting was held. Hosts where the project partners of the Rostock University. Each partner presented their progress, results and future actions regarding the project. Discussion points where: the inclusion of machine learning for irrigation forecast, the details of developing the hose reel irrigation machine and measuring the ecological impact of applied variable rate fertigation. On the second day the partner farm KSG Agrargesellschaft mbH Kassow was visited, followed by an excursion to the nearby test field.
2022 Annual Meeting
Between 5. and 7. September the annual project meeting was held in Bursa. Hosts where the turkish partners at the Bursa Uludag University. Each partner presented their progress, results and future actions regarding the project. Especially the design of the Hose Reel Irrigation Machine was productively discussed. On the second day the Sezer plant was visited, followed by an excursion to the nearby test field. Orhan, the turkish farmer managing the field was also present and gave practical insights into his cultivation practices and real world requirements for the future VRF system.
2021 Kick-off meeting
On March 30, the kick-off meeting for the research project “A Data-Driven Platform for Site-Specific Fertigation” took place online. The project, led by the Belgian partner Abdul Mouazen, University of Ghent, is about combined fertilization and irrigation. Together with other partners from Switzerland, Greece and Turkey, an irrigation system is to be coupled with a fertilizer system in order to apply both fertilizer and water on a site-specific basis. This is to be tested on three farms, including in Kassow near Rostock. The Professorship for Geodesy and Geoinformatics from University Rostock is responsible for researching, implementing and operating the data-driven infrastructure as a central component. The project has a term of three years.