IoT in agriculture is gaining importance since it helps monitor multiple on-farm assets all at once. The Nested or Holistic approach means connecting many different devices/solutions that are strategically placed in fields. For the nested approach strategy, multiple devices are used to monitor different aspects in your field and around your farm.

METOS^® decision support systems bring smart farming from being “just an idea” to reality as they play an important role in collecting environmental data, used for the optimization of farm management activities and enhanced fieldwork planning including plant protection and fertilizer application.

Decision support systems

Get a powerful tool, a combination of monitored and forecasted data, which will help you optimize your production and produce a higher yield with fewer resources.

• SOWING MANAGEMENT: Monitor soil temperature to sow your crop at the optimum time. Eg. for corn, the ideal germination temperature is 12 °C or higher, and between 21 °C and 30 °C at tasselling.
• FERTILIZING MANAGEMENT: Optimize fertilization time. The best is if the spreading of the fertilizer is followed by rainfall. Apply spring nitrogen fertilizer when conditions for nitrification are optimal.
• PLANT PROTECTION MANAGEMENT: With the help of disease models and spraying window forecast you can optimize your plant protection activities in a way to reduce disease pressure.
  For example: If spraying is followed by a rainfall of 30 mm, there is a good chance that it will wash away the treatment and you will have to repeat the spraying to keep your crops protected.
• IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT: Monitor soil moisture to know when your crop is suffering water stress and start your irrigation system on time, to avoid reduced yield and quality. Lower the use of irrigation water by avoiding over-irrigation.
• WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT: Monitor warehouse climatic conditions to keep your yield at optimum conditions throughout the warehousing period. If the temperature in the grain silo is too high, diseases may be favored.
• WORK MANAGEMENT: Monitor climatic conditions in your fields and use the hyper-localized weather forecast to know where you can send your workers.
  For example: When you want to send a sprayer to a distant field, check on FieldClimate or on a mobile app, if the wind speed is not too high to spray.

Recommended equipment

With the use of METOS^® DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM you can monitor all relevant climatic conditions and soil parameters, and bring your agricultural work management one step higher.

Basis sensor set, needed for pest and disease monitoring of different crops includes at least a rain gauge and sensors for air temperature and relative humidity. These sensors are available in most METOS^® weather stations.

CANOLA

Best weather stations to use: iMETOS IMT200 or μMETOS NB-IoT.
For soil moisture control we recommend soil moisture add-ons:

• Soil Moisture & Soil Temperature Sensor PI54-D
• Sentek Drill & Drop TriScan Probe (60, 90, 120 cm) or Pessl AC Probe (60, 120 cm)

MAIZE

Best weather stations to use: iMETOS IMT300 or μMETOS NB-IoT.
For soil moisture control we recommend soil moisture add-ons:

• Soil Moisture & Soil Temperature Sensor PI54-D
• Watermark Soil Moisture Sensor
• Sentek Drill & Drop TriScan Probe (60, 90, 120 cm) or Pessl AC Probe (60, 120 cm)

SOYBEANS and SUNFLOWER

Best weather stations to use: iMETOS IMT200 or μMETOS NB-IoT.
For soil moisture control we recommend soil moisture add-ons:

• Soil Moisture & Soil Temperature Sensor PI54-D
• Sentek Drill & Drop TriScan Probe (60, 90, 120 cm) or Pessl AC Probe (60, 120 cm)

POTATO and SUGARBEET

Best weather stations to use: iMETOS IMT200 or μMETOS NB-IoT.
For soil moisture control we recommend soil moisture add-ons:

• Soil Moisture & Soil Temperature Sensor PI54-D
• Watermark Soil Moisture Sensor
• Sentek Drill & Drop TriScan Probe (60, 90, 120 cm) or Pessl AC Probe (60, 120 cm)