Diseño, desarrollo y evaluación de un dispositivo de bajo coste para la determinación del balance hídrico mediante técnicas de pesada utilizando sistemas embebidos

Resumo

For optimal, cost-saving management of irrigation water, accurate knowledge of the overall water consumption is needed, taking into account different species and varieties of plants, weather and soil conditions. The most accurate way to determine this water consumption is by using weighting lysimeters. Unfortunately, due to the current high costs, their use is limited to a few lysimetric stations located in research facilities, which are used to calculate the plant real consumption, and to develop mathematical models to extrapolate those data to other different crops, having in most of cases different conditions from the ones used to estimate the models, thus causing errors in those estimations. For all of this, the need to develop an affordable low-cost lysimetric station arises, to contribute to improve water management, and thus, the available water resources. This PhD. Thesis describes the design and development of a novel low-cost weighting lysimeter and a technical and economical assessment through the setup of a lysimetric station, comprising 16 lysimeters to analyze the water consumption in potted plants. It has been verified as a high accuracy, easy to set up, real time data acquisition system, including the electrovalves control, to automate the drain tank. This new agromotic system offers a wide range of possibilities to accurately measure the water consumption of any given plant. Besides, its economic sustainability has been proved by specific research, showing a positive net value with a 99% reliability, becoming into a fascinating research instrument as well as a suggested tool to improve crops productivity.