WATERTRUF PHASE 2

The cultivation of the black truffle constitutes a new source of resources, with a growing economic and social importance, especially in depopulated Spain. Holm oak plots are mostly located in areas with low rainfall and degraded soils, so irrigation is a basic task, given the current context of low rainfall. Knowledge of the physiological state of the holm oak in response to water stress is perceived as a value proposition to establish the need for irrigation in truffle plantations, optimising truffle production in terms of quantity and quality parameters. To this end, IoT digital technologies, sensors, Cloud and Machine Learning (all of them applied in WATERTRUF) play a fundamental role, as they allow the end user to monitor and know in real time the water status of the plantation.
Phase 1 of the project, which has already been executed, has included work aimed at integrating information from field sensors and third-party sensors into a web app infrastructure that allows easy visualisation. In addition, this web app integrates an application for the introduction of irrigation dynamics by the farmer, so that the end user is offered an evidence-based tool for the easy and intuitive management of the truffle farm. Phase 1 also included the development of a prototype based on Near Infrared technology for the quantification of the water status of holm oaks in truffle plantations, which will be evaluated in a laboratory environment.