Root Zone Development Monitoring: Importance And Benefits

Proper Monitoring Makes Trees Take Deeper Root!

For nearly a century, the importance of the monitoring root system for increased productivity has been acknowledged in Pakistan. It is common knowledge that roots serve as a foundation for the plant and act as the mechanism by which the plant consumes water and nutrients required for the life and development of the plant. The use of modern technology in recent years has uncovered issues like genetic diversity in root systems and the role of root signals in influencing the plant’s overall growth and development.

Low temperature is a prominent limiting factor in the growth of horticultural crops in temperate regions like Pakistan, particularly during cold season cultivation. Although freezing conditions in heated or solar greenhouses can be largely avoided, inadequate heating due to high fuel costs and/or long-term environmental concerns also contribute to sub-optimal temperature conditions, which typically continue for a long time. However, proper root zone development monitoring leads to increase productivity and efficiency.

Importance Of Root Zone Development Monitoring

Research in the root zone has been carried out for several decades, although the basic approach to root management and processes in concentrated plant systems remains largely to be established. Better crop production to meet the food demand of a growing population was massively dependent on chemical fertilizer input specifically based on the typically presumed concept of ‘low input, lower output’ which ultimately resulted in overuse of fertilizers while ignoring the biological perspective of roots for efficient acquisition, root zone development and mobilization of soil nutrients.

Enviroscan: Ideal Root Zone Monitoring System

The Enviroscan sensor by Farm dynamics Pakistan is a profiling instrument for précised monitoring of volumetric water content at multiple depths in a soil profile i.e. (moisture, salinity, temperature and/or humidity).

Features

  • Install up to 16 sensors on one probe with adjustable depth placement
  • Monitor from shallow depths (0-10cm) to deep installations (up to 40m)
  • Built-in probe depth and orientation settings to improve sensor repeatability
  • Enhancing quality, yield and revenues.
  • Keeps you updated about soil condition and root zone development.

User Benefits Of Enviroscan

  • Good for short-term usage due to the fast and simple deployment, for example, in vegetable plant tracking applications.
  • Often designed for long-term use, since it can be used for many years and remains untouched.
  • Potential savings in water, energy, quality, fertilizer, time, and yields.
  • Offer slurry-free installation process, increasing soil moisture and salinity readings accuracy.
  • Less prone to machinery damage with electronics being completely buried under soil.
  • Compare soil salinity, moisture, temperature and root zone development readings to see what is going on in the soil profile.

Final Word

Root evaluation of soil nutrient opportunities and root-tested methods plays a crucial role in modifying nutrient conversion, obtaining and using active nutrient, and hence plant productivity. Root productivity in enhancing the collection, mobilization and use of nutrients can be fully exploited by:

  • Regulating rhizosphere procedures.
  • Manipulate the creation of the heart.

Optimized maintenance of the root zone.