JP6715475B2 - Irrigation system, irrigation system controller, farm house - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates generally to irrigation systems, irrigation system controls, and agricultural houses. More specifically, the present invention relates to an irrigation system for controlling the amount of water when irrigating a field where plants are cultivated, a controller for the irrigation system, and an agricultural house provided with the irrigation system.

Conventionally, a technique for planning the amount of irrigation during the growing period of crops has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for acquiring the amount of watering a crop to be cultivated based on the stored growth data and the input information on the cropping type and the number of tailoring. Further, Patent Document 1 describes that the growth data is data relating to the period required for the growth stage (the number of days between flowering, etc.) and is quantitative data obtained from the actual growth of the past several years or a dozen years. Has been done. Further, Patent Document 1 describes that growth data is prepared for each area divided by environmental conditions.

JP, 2005-278535, A

By the way, if the soil for plant cultivation is different, the water retention capacity of the soil may be different. Even if the irrigation amount is the same, if the water holding capacity of the soil is different, the condition of the plants at the time of harvest may be different. In Patent Document 1, the soil is used as the medium, but the irrigation amount is determined without considering the water retention capacity of the soil.

An object of the present invention is to provide an irrigation system capable of easily determining the amount of water for irrigation by paying attention to the water retaining capacity of soil. Furthermore, this invention aims at providing the control apparatus of this irrigation system, and the agricultural house provided with this irrigation system.

The irrigation system according to the present invention includes a water supply device, a control device, and a measuring device. The water supply device irrigates the soil for plant cultivation. The control device instructs the water supply device when and how much water is to be supplied to the soil. The measuring device measures the soil water content of the soil. Furthermore, the control device includes a determination unit, a storage unit, an instruction unit, and an interface unit. The determining unit determines the amount of water required to bring the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device. The storage unit stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil. The instruction unit instructs the water supply device to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit. The interface unit receives at least first information including the current value measured by the measuring device, and delivers the first information to the determination unit. The determination unit is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device with the conversion table.

The controller of the irrigation system according to the present invention is configured to instruct the water supply device when to irrigate the soil for plant cultivation and the amount of water. This control device includes a determination unit, a storage unit, an instruction unit, and an interface unit. The determination unit determines the amount of water required to bring the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current value of the soil moisture of the soil measured by the measuring device. The storage unit stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil. The instruction unit instructs the water supply device to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit. The interface unit receives at least first information including the current value measured by the measuring device, and delivers the first information to the determination unit. The determination unit is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device with the conversion table.

The agricultural house according to the present invention includes an outer shell in which a frame supports a light-transmissive cover, and a watering system.

According to the configuration of the present invention, there is an advantage that it becomes possible to easily determine the amount of water for performing irrigation by paying attention to the water retention capacity of the soil.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the irrigation system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of a process of adjusting the amount of water in the irrigation system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of the screen of the operating device in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the growth stage of plants and the timing of irrigation in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of the screen of the operating device for designating the amount and timing of initial irrigation in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example of a screen of the operating device for designating the amount and timing of additional irrigation water in the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of an agricultural house according to the embodiment.

The irrigation system described below is mainly intended for use in agricultural houses. However, use in an agricultural house is not essential, and the irrigation system described below can be used for isolated cultivation such as bag culture, and can also be used for outdoor cultivation depending on conditions. In the following description, the range of “soil” for plant cultivation includes not only the soil in the field but also the isolation medium in the case of performing isolated cultivation. Therefore, the term “soil” here includes not only the soil existing in nature but also the artificially produced medium. In addition, below, the soil of the field surrounded by the greenhouse for agriculture is made into the example of the soil for plant cultivation.

The plant to be cultivated in the agricultural house can be selected from leaf vegetables, fruit vegetables, beans, fruits, flowers and the like. Typical leaf vegetables include spinach, komatsuna, lettuce, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. Representative fruits and vegetables include tomato, cucumber, eggplant and the like. In the example described below, spinach is assumed as the plant to be cultivated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the irrigation system 10 includes a water supply device 11, a control device 12, and a measurement device 13. The operation device 14 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration provided integrally with the control device 12 and a configuration provided separately from the control device 12. The operation device 14 includes a display device 141 that displays information and an operation device 142 that receives a user operation. The display 141 is a liquid crystal display or a flat panel display such as an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display (so-called organic EL display). Further, the operation device 142 is configured by a touch panel that is overlaid on the screen of the display device 141, or a switch that is arranged around the display device 141.

In the configuration in which the operating device 14 is provided separately from the control device 12, the operating device 14 is a device dedicated to the irrigation system 10, and the operating device 14 is selected from a general-purpose personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. There is a configuration. When the operation device 14 is selected from a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc., an application program (so-called application) is required. When the operation device 14 is a personal computer, the control device 12 may be a computer server and the personal computer may be a client, in addition to the configuration in which the personal computer executes the application program. Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the control device 12 and the operating device 14 communicate with each other through an electric communication line such as the Internet or a mobile communication network.

The measuring device 13 is a device for measuring soil moisture, and a technique for measuring the permittivity of the soil, a technique for measuring the water potential of the soil, and the like are known. Techniques such as TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), FDR (Frequency Domain Reflectometry), and ADR (Amplitude Domain Reflectometry) are known as the former. Further, a tensiometer is known as a soil moisture meter that adopts the latter technique. In this configuration example, a tensiometer is used as the measuring device 13, but it does not prevent measuring soil moisture by using another technique. Since the tensiometer can measure soil moisture locally, it is superior to the technique of measuring permittivity for the purpose of measuring soil moisture near the roots of plants.

When a large number of plants are planted in a field, the measuring devices 13 are installed at a plurality of places in the field, and the representative value of soil moisture measured by each of the plurality of measuring devices 13 is used as the value of soil moisture. For example, when measuring the soil water content in the field with five measuring devices 13, one measuring device 13 may be arranged in the central part of the field, and the measuring devices 13 may be arranged in each of four places in the peripheral part of the field. is there. In this case, as the representative value, it is possible to use the average value of soil moisture measured by each of the five measuring devices 13.

Further, since there is a possibility that the difference in soil moisture between the central part of the field and the peripheral part of the field is large, a weighted average value may be used as a representative value of the soil moisture. Alternatively, the minimum value or the maximum value of soil moisture measured by each of the plurality of measuring devices 13 can be used as the representative value. Note that the number and arrangement of the measuring devices 13 are appropriately determined according to the area and shape of the field.

In addition, when the soil is an isolation medium, a plurality of isolation media are often arranged in one place, and it is considered that the variation in soil water content in each isolation medium is small. Therefore, even when a plurality of isolation media are provided, the measuring device 13 may be placed in any one isolation media. Of course, when a large number of isolation media are provided, the measuring device 13 may be arranged in each of a small number of isolation media selected from a large number of isolation media. In this way, when the measuring device 13 is arranged in each of the plurality of isolation media, the representative value obtained from the plurality of soil moisture values is the soil moisture, as in the case where the measuring devices 13 are arranged in each of the plural places in the field. Used as the value of.

The water supply device 11 sprinkles water from a small hole provided on a sprinkling tube to sprinkle water, drip irrigation to drip water from a drip tube into soil, or a porous tube buried in soil to soak water into soil. Irrigate the soil by a method selected from the underground irrigation. Hereinafter, the water sprinkling tube, the drip tube, and the porous tube will be referred to as tubes without distinction.

Regardless of which method is adopted, the water supply device 11 can be controlled by an electric signal like a tube 110 to which the primary water is supplied and a solenoid valve or a motor-operated valve that controls the flow rate of the primary water to the tube 110. And a flexible valve 111. Further, the water supply device 11 preferably includes a flow meter 112 that monitors the flow rate of the primary water supplied to the tube 110, and includes a pump 113 that pressurizes the primary water when sprinkling is selected as the irrigation method. desirable. The primary water is selected from well water, tap water, rainwater and the like. The water supply device 11 also includes a tank for storing primary water as needed.

The control device 12 determines the amount of water to be supplied to the soil, and controls the water supply device 11 so that the determined amount of water is supplied to the soil. Here, the amount of water supplied to the soil means the amount of water supplied to the soil of the entire field where the plant is cultivated. The control device 12 controls the valve 111 so that a predetermined amount of primary water is supplied to the tube 110. If the pressure of the primary water supplied to the tube 110 is known, the amount of water supplied to the soil is determined by the opening degree of the valve 111 and the time. However, in order to accurately control the amount of water supplied to the soil, it is desirable that the control device 12 use information on the flow rate obtained from the flow meter 112. That is, the control device 12 recognizes the amount of water supplied to the tube 110 based on the integrated value of the flow rate per unit time (for example, 1 second), and the water supply device so that the amount of water determined by the control device 12 is supplied to the soil. Control 11

The control device 12 includes a determination unit 121 that determines the amount of water supplied from the water supply device 11 to the soil. The determination unit 121 determines the amount of water to be supplied to the soil using the conversion table stored in the storage unit 122, and notifies the instruction unit 123 of the determined amount of water. The instruction unit 123 gives an instruction to the water supply device 11 to supply the amount of water determined by the determination unit 121 to the soil. The determination unit 121 includes an interface unit 124 that acquires the soil moisture value measured by the measuring device 13.

The value of soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 will be referred to as “current value” below. Here, it is assumed that the interface unit 124 is configured to be communicable with the operation device 14. That is, the control device 12 receives the soil moisture value measured by the measuring device 13 through the operating device 14. When a plurality of measuring devices 13 are arranged, the interface unit 124 may receive the representative value of soil moisture as the current value.

Here, the measuring device 13 is a tensiometer, and the soil water content is measured by a pF value. When the determination unit 121 receives the current value of the pF value measured by the measurement device 13, the determination unit 121 determines the amount of water supplied from the water supply device 11 to the soil, that is, the amount of irrigation water. The amount of irrigation water is the amount of water required to bring the pF value of the soil to the “target value” with respect to the current pF value. The target value may be set by the user or may be set in advance.

The determination unit 121 determines the amount of water to be supplied to the soil by collating the current value of the pF value measured by the measurement device 13 with the conversion table stored in the storage unit 122. The conversion table has a data structure in which the amount of water supplied to the soil is associated with the combination of the current pF value and the target pF value. Therefore, when the current value of the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 and the target value of the pF value are collated with the conversion table, the amount of irrigation water is obtained from the conversion table.

The conversion table is configured as shown in Table 1, for example. In Table 1, the value of the square at the position where the pF value shown as the current value in the vertical direction (row direction) and the pF value shown as the target value in the horizontal direction (column direction) intersect (* (Indicated by *) is the amount of water. By using this conversion table, the amount of water required to reach the target value of the soil moisture with respect to the current value of the soil moisture can be obtained.

The soil water values in Table 1 are pF values, and the smaller the value, the greater the amount of water in the soil. In general, the higher the pF value during cultivation, the harder the harvest, the slower the growth of plants, and the greater the variation in growth. In addition, the smaller the pF value during cultivation, the higher the mobility of water in the soil, and the more the nutrients such as nitrogen run away.

In the conversion table as shown in Table 1, the value of the amount of water entering the grid at the position where the current value and the target value intersect is not determined only by the nature of the soil, but also the underground structure of the field, evaporation of water from the soil, plants It needs to be created in consideration of the evaporation of water from water. However, the information excluding the nature of the soil differs depending on the environment of the field, the type of plant, and the like, and therefore cannot be obtained without actually cultivating the plant. Also, these pieces of information are complex and cannot be easily separated. Therefore, the contents of the conversion table can be modified while the irrigation system 10 is operating.

However, since the conversion table is necessary even when the operation of the irrigation system 10 is started, in the conversion table stored in the storage unit 122, the initial correspondence relationship between the combination of the current value and the target value and the water amount is It is determined based on the soil moisture characteristic curve. The soil moisture characteristic curve can be obtained using a soil sample. In addition, a plurality of types of typical soil water characteristic curves are prepared in the control device 12, a simple inspection is performed on the soil in the field where the plant is cultivated, and the soil water characteristic curve corresponding to the field is selected. May be.

The soil moisture characteristic curve represents the relationship between soil potential and water content. Therefore, when the soil moisture characteristic curve is determined, the water amount for changing the soil moisture from the current value to the target value is determined by fitting the current pF value and the target value to the moisture characteristic curve. For example, the theoretical value of the amount of water can be obtained by a model in which only gravity water, which is removed under the soil by gravity, escapes from the soil. In addition, the amount of gravity water is estimated assuming that the underground structure of the field is ideal. However, since the underground structure is not reflected in the soil moisture characteristic curve and the underground structure in the field is not always ideal, it is not possible to obtain an appropriate amount of water only by the moisture characteristic curve.

This will be described in more detail. Now, if the amount of water retained by the soil is A, the amount of gravity water is B, and the amount of water to be irrigated is X, then X=A+B. Further, when the amount of water retained by the soil at one point after irrigation is Y, the amount of water evaporated from the plant from the irrigation to the one point is C, and the amount of water evaporated from the soil from the irrigation to the one point is D, Y=A-C-D. Therefore, the relationship of X=Y+B+C+D is obtained.

Thus, the amount X of water to be irrigated is ideally the sum of the amount Y of water left in the soil at a certain point, the amount B of gravity water, and the amount C of water evaporated to the certain point and the amount D of evaporated water. Desired. However, of the above-mentioned four types of water amounts Y, B, C, and D used to determine the water amount X to be irrigated, the water amount that can be obtained from the moisture characteristic curve is the water amount Y left in the soil at a temporary point. Therefore, the other three types of water amounts B, C, and D cannot be obtained from the moisture characteristic curve.

In the conversion table, the combination of the current value and the target value of the pF value and the water amount is obtained as the water amount of gravity water on the assumption of an ideal underground structure. Therefore, if the underground structure is different, it should be supplied to the field. The amount of water changes. In addition to gravity water, changes in the amount of water evaporating from plants and the amount of water evaporating from fields also affect the amount of water applied to the conversion table. Therefore, the combination of the current value, the target value, and the water amount set in the conversion table needs to be adjusted according to the field.

For example, the amount of water that drains underground as gravity water increases when the soil in the field is deep, and the amount of water that drains underground as gravity water decreases when the groundwater level is high or when a hard bed layer exists below the field. Further, the ratio of gravity water to the amount of water that has been irrigated varies depending on the amount of water at the time of irrigation, and the smaller the amount of water that has been irrigated, the lower the ratio of gravity water may be. The ratio of the amount of water evaporated from the plant to the amount of water that was irrigated varies depending on the size of the above-ground part of the plant.The larger the size of the above-ground part of the plant, the greater the ratio of the amount of water that evaporates to the amount of water Tend to do. The ratio of the amount of water evaporated from the field to the amount of irrigated water varies depending on the amount of irrigated water, and the smaller the amount of irrigated water, the lower the ratio of evaporated water.

As described above, the amount of water required to keep an appropriate amount of water in the soil after watering the field varies depending on various conditions such as the underground structure of the field and the size of the above-ground part of the plant. Therefore, the data set in the conversion table cannot be applied to all fields and needs to be corrected according to the fields.

In order to adapt the combination of the current value and the target value of the pF value and the water amount to the field, irrigation of the field is carried out multiple times, and the work of adjusting the water amount based on the pF value of the soil water after the watering is repeated, It is desirable to set the amount of water so that the target value can be achieved. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, four times of irrigation are carried out, and the amount of water is adjusted every time irrigation is carried out to obtain an appropriate amount of water to be supplied to the field in one irrigation. The horizontal axis of FIG. 2 represents the number of times of cultivation with the cultivation period from seeding to harvest of the plant being once. The vertical axis of FIG. 2 represents the amount of soil water at the time of harvest. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the value of soil moisture before irrigation is set to a constant value, and the amount of water is adjusted each time irrigation is performed, so that the amount of water suitable for the field is finally obtained. ..

The amount of irrigation water here means the total amount of irrigation water to be carried out in one cultivation period from seeding to harvesting of plants. In other words, the amount of irrigation water once means the total amount of water supplied to the field during one cultivation period of the plant. In addition, since watering is often performed multiple times during one cultivation period of the plant, here, regardless of whether the watering is performed once or multiple times throughout the cultivation period, the watering is performed throughout one cultivation period. The irrigation is called "whole irrigation" to distinguish it from individual irrigation. When performing irrigation only once in one cultivation period, the amount of irrigation water at one time corresponds to the total amount of irrigation water, and when irrigation is performed multiple times during one cultivation period, The water volume of each irrigation is less than the total water volume of irrigation. Depending on the type of plant, one cultivation period is not a period from sowing to harvesting but a period from planting to harvesting.

As described above, the amount of water obtained by assuming an ideal underground structure based on the moisture characteristic curve may not be suitable for the actual soil. That is, there is a possibility that a great difference may occur between the soil moisture after irrigation and the target value, even if the water amount determined by assuming an ideal underground structure is supplied with respect to the current soil moisture value. Therefore, the amount of water in the conversion table is adjusted so that the soil water content becomes the target value. Here, since the measuring device 13 measures the soil water content by the pF value, the user recognizes the soil water content by the pF value. To adjust the amount of water, the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 during operation of the irrigation system 10 is reflected in the conversion table. Therefore, the control device 12 includes the correction unit 125 that adjusts the water amount corresponding to the combination of the current value and the target value of the pF value in the conversion table. The correction unit 125 receives the pF value of the soil measured by the measuring device 13 as input information from the operating device 14 and reflects it on the water amount in the conversion table.

Specifically, the contents of the conversion table are corrected by performing the work described below. The contents of the conversion table are corrected by the correction unit 125 after the water amount corresponding to the combination of the current pF value and the target value is finally determined.

The example shown in FIG. 2 shows a process of obtaining the water amount at the time of irrigation so that the pF value of the soil at the time of harvesting the plant becomes a predetermined value. Here, the amount of total irrigation water is calculated so as to satisfy the desired pF value at the time of harvesting, which corresponds to the plant to be cultivated. The desirable pF value at the time of harvesting is determined based on the experience of workers who cultivate plants. For example, the desired pF value at harvest is set to 2.5. Although it depends on the type of plant, it is known that the pF value at the time of harvest affects the hardness, taste, etc. of the plant to be harvested. When the plant is spinach, the higher the pF value at harvest, the harder it is.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, 1.0 is selected as the target value of the pF value that determines the amount of water supplied to the field during the first cultivation period. This is because, assuming the ideal model of the field shown as an example, the pF value when irrigation is performed so that the pF value of the soil at the time of harvest is 2.5 is set to 1.0. is there. That is, 1.0 is selected as the target value of the pF value in the first cultivation period. Here, the target value of the pF value means the pF value immediately after performing one irrigation.

The example of FIG. 2 shows that the pF value at harvest was about 2.0, which was a value smaller than 2.5, with respect to the target value selected in the first cultivation period. In other words, this indicates that the amount of supplied water was excessive with the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 at the time of harvesting, because the water retention capacity of the soil that was irrigated was greater than in a standard field. In FIG. 2, the soil moisture to be achieved at the time of harvesting the plant is shown in the range D1. That is, the soil water content in this range D1 corresponds to a pF value of 2.5.

Since the soil water content at the time of harvest was excessive in the first cultivation period, 1.3 was selected as the target value of the pF value in the second cultivation period in order to reduce the amount of water supplied to the field. There is. The target value of the pF value in the second cultivation period is determined based on the difference between the pF value of 2.0 at the time of harvest in the first cultivation period and the ideal pF value of 2.5. There is. For example, an operator who performs irrigation estimates that there was an excess of 3000 [L] in the total amount of irrigation water in the first cultivation period based on the scale of the field and the pF value at the time of harvest. Therefore, the worker estimates that the target value of the pF value should be changed from 1.0 to 1.3 in order to reduce the water amount by 3000 [L] during the second cultivation period. In addition, [L] represents liter.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the soil moisture at the time of harvest is insufficient and the soil moisture at the time of harvest is lower than the range D1 in the second cultivation period. Again, the same as in the first cultivation period, and based on the difference between the pF value at harvest of about 2.8 and the ideal pF value of 2.5, the total amount of water for the second irrigation was determined. It is estimated that there was a shortage of 1500 [L], and in order to increase the water volume by 1500 [L], the target value of the pF value should be changed from 1.3 to 1.1 in the third irrigation. I'm estimating. Similarly, the third irrigation is estimated to be an excess of 500 [L], and it is estimated that the target value of the pF value should be changed from 1.1 to 1.2 at the time of the fourth irrigation. ing. Then, by the fourth irrigation, the soil water content at the time of harvest is within the range D1 corresponding to a pF value of 2.5. That is, by adjusting the amount of water used for irrigation during the four cultivation periods, there is no excess or deficiency in soil moisture at the time of plant harvest.

As described above, the excess or deficiency of the water amount at the time of irrigation is eliminated by adjusting the water amount at the time of performing irrigation based on the ideal pF value at the time of harvest and the pF value measured at the time of harvest. Therefore, the user may instruct through the operating device 14 the correction of the conversion table so that the amount of water corresponding to the target value of the pF value selected at the time of the last irrigation is reflected in the amount of irrigation water. That is, the amount of water associated with the square having the target pF value of 1.2 in the conversion table before the correction is changed to the square having the target pF value of 1.0 in the corrected conversion table. Modified to match. The correction unit 125 also corrects the water amount of the other squares in accordance with this correction. When correcting the water amount, the correction unit 125 considers the moisture characteristic curve of the soil and performs the correction according to the pF value.

The operation shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and the amount of water to be adjusted varies depending on the size of the field. The amount of water to be adjusted may change depending on the time interval for performing irrigation, the average temperature during the irrigation period, etc. Therefore, although the amount of water to be adjusted varies depending on the field, the degree of excess or deficiency of the amount of water according to the target pF value is evaluated during multiple irrigation in any field. As a result, the amount of water can be narrowed down to an appropriate range. In the above-mentioned example, the water amount without excess or deficiency is required in the four cultivation periods, but the water amount without excess or deficiency may be required in the cultivation period less than four times, and in the cultivation period of five times or more. Sometimes it is required. Since the fields are surrounded by agricultural houses, the environment for cultivating plants is adjusted to be substantially the same even when the cultivation period is different, and the particle size composition of soil and the corrosion rate of soil are also adjusted. It is considered that the variation between cultivation periods is negligibly small.

As described above, the water amount suitable for the field can be determined by adjusting the water amount in one cultivation period while performing the irrigation plural times. When the water amount determined in this way is reflected in the conversion table, it becomes easy to select the water amount corresponding to the combination of the current pF value and the target value. That is, when the current value of the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 and the target value of the pF value to be achieved by irrigation are determined, the determination unit 121 can determine the water amount suitable for the field only by collating with the conversion table. It will be possible.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, it is desirable that a display reflecting the contents of the conversion table shown in Table 1 is displayed on the screen of the display 141 provided in the operation device 14. The operation device 142 causes a portion corresponding to each of the plurality of squares displayed on the display device 141 to function as an operation button. When any operation button provided on the operation device 142 is operated, the interface unit 124 receives, as input information, a combination of the current pF value and the target value according to the position of the operation button. That is, in this configuration example, the interface unit 124 receives the soil moisture value measured by the measuring device 13 from the operating device 14. Here, “operating the operation button” means touching the operation button or applying pressure to the operation button.

As described above, the operation device 14 functions as the selection unit 143 configured so that the combination of the current pF value and the target value can be selected by the operation button. When any of the plurality of operation buttons in the selection unit 143 is operated, the interface unit 124 receives the input information corresponding to the operated operation button from the operation device 14. The input information in this case is a combination of the current value of the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 and the target value of the pF value.

Upon receiving the combination of the current value and the target value of the pF value as input information through the interface unit 124, the determination unit 121 compares the received current value and the target value with the conversion table stored in the storage unit 122 to determine the water amount. Establish. The water amount determined by the determination unit 121 is notified to the instruction unit 123, and the instruction unit 123 gives an instruction to the water supply device 11 so that the water supply is performed with the water amount determined by the determination unit 121.

In the above-described configuration example, the operation button is assigned to the combination of the current pF value and the target pF value. Therefore, if the user determines the timing of starting the irrigation according to the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 and the target value of the pF value to be achieved by the irrigation, the user can operate the operation button to obtain an appropriate amount of water. Can be supplied to the soil.

By the way, it is desirable to change the amount of water used for irrigation depending on the season. For example, it is desirable that the amount of irrigation water is smaller in winter than in summer. This is because the temperature of winter is lower than that of summer, so that the evaporation of water from the soil is small and the transpiration action of plants is small. Therefore, if the operation button according to the season is provided, the user can appropriately select the amount of irrigation water only by operating the operation button according to the season.

As an example, the pF value according to the season is defined as shown in Table 2. In Table 2, the “target value” is the pF value that should be achieved in the same way as the target value in Table 1, and the “pre-irrigation value” is the pF value that represents the soil water content before the water supply should be started. is there. That is, Table 2 is created by associating the specific cells in the conversion table shown in Table 1 with the seasons and extracting the information regarding the four cells associated with the seasons.

When the squares are associated with the four seasons as described above, it is possible to display only the four target elements on the display 141. That is, according to the contents of Table 2, when the selection unit 143 including only four operation buttons is provided in the operation device 14, it is possible to select the amount of irrigation water according to four seasons. However, the amount of irrigation water varies depending on weather conditions.

Therefore, similar to the screen of the operation device 14 shown in FIG. 3, even if the grids in which the contents of the conversion table are reflected are displayed on the display device 141 and a part of the grids is marked with the season, Good. That is, the selection unit 143 is configured to perform the irrigation shown in Table 2 by operating the operation button corresponding to the grid. As described above, if the selection unit 143 includes not only the operation button for selecting the season but also other operation buttons, the water amount can be adjusted according to the user's judgment. In the following, the grid in which the contents of Table 1 are reflected and the grid representing the season is displayed is called a “target element”.

The target element contains the characters that represent the season, and the visual information that is selected from the type of line that surrounds the grid, the color of the line that surrounds the grid, the color inside the grid, and the pattern inside the grid. Is distinguished from other squares. Normally, the operation of the operation button corresponding to the grid that is not the target element is prohibited, and the operation of the operation button corresponding to the grid that is not the target element is permitted when a predetermined operation is performed. ..

Now assume that the season is autumn. In this case, when the pF value measured by the measurement device 13 is the current value corresponding to the target element corresponding to autumn and the operation button of the target element corresponding to autumn is operated, the determination unit 121 The amount of water corresponding to the operation button is extracted from the conversion table. According to Table 2, the grid corresponding to autumn corresponds to the grid at the 5th row and the 4th column in Table 1, so the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 is "2.0" at the 5th row. In some cases, when the operation button corresponding to autumn is operated, the amount of water whose pF value becomes “1.0” in the fourth column is extracted.

In the operation described above, the amount of irrigation water during the cultivation period of the plant is determined. By the way, as described above, the pF value at the time of harvesting a plant affects the hardness, taste, etc. of the plant to be harvested. Therefore, it is necessary to determine not only the amount of irrigation water but also the timing of irrigation. Further, in the cultivation period of the plant, it may be desirable that the irrigation is performed not only once but also a plurality of times.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which watering is performed a plurality of times during one cultivation period of the plant. The example shown in FIG. 4 assumes spinach as a plant to be cultivated. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the spinach cultivation period is divided into four periods from 1st stage S1 to 4th stage S4 according to the growth stage of the spinach. Here, the 1st stage S1 is a period from immediately after sowing in a cultivated field until two cotyledons are produced, and in the 2nd stage S2, 4 cotyledons are produced after two cotyledons are produced. Until. In addition, 3rd stage S3 is the period from the generation of 4 true leaves until the plant height reaches 20 [cm], and 4th stage S4 is the period from the plant height reaching 20 [cm] to the harvest. is there. Since a plurality of individuals are cultivated in the field, the growth stage is judged based on the condition of about 80% of the individual plants cultivated in the field.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the growth stages for irrigation are 1st stage S1 and 3rd stage S3. Irrigation was performed multiple times in the first period S1, and only once in the third period S3. Irrigation is not prohibited in the second stage S2 or the fourth stage S4, and in some cases, irrigation is performed in the second stage S2 or the fourth stage S4.

The total amount of irrigation water is the total amount of irrigation water carried out during one cultivation period of the plant. The conversion table described above is used to determine the total amount of irrigation water. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the total amount of irrigation water is a value obtained by summing the amounts of irrigation water performed in the first period S1 and the third period S3. Hereinafter, the irrigation performed in the first stage S1 will be referred to as “initial irrigation”, and the irrigation in the periods other than the first stage S1 will be referred to as “additional irrigation”.

That is, total irrigation may be divided into initial irrigation and additional irrigation. Further, multiple irrigation may be performed for at least one of the initial irrigation and the additional irrigation. Therefore, even if the total amount of irrigation water in one cultivation period is determined, if the amount of irrigation water to be performed in multiple times and the timing of irrigation are different, the soil at the time of harvest will be different. Differences in water content may occur.

The initial irrigation is irrigation performed in the first stage S1 after seeding, and irrigation may be performed for only one day, but is often performed for multiple days. The initial irrigation may be performed for 6 days, for example. If the amount of water supplied to the field in the initial irrigation is 10,000 [L], for example, 5000 [L] will be allocated on the first day and 1000 [L] will be allocated on the second to sixth days, respectively. Assigned. Of course, this way of distribution is an example. For example, the initial irrigation may be performed for 5 days, and the amount of water supplied to the field on each day may be equal. In this case, if the amount of water supplied to the field in the initial irrigation is 10,000 [L], 2000 [L] is assigned as the daily amount of irrigation from the first day to the fifth day. In addition, in the initial irrigation, the daily irrigation amount from the first day to the third day was 3000 [L], and the irrigation amount of 1000 [L] was performed on the fourth day so that the water amount of 10,000 [L] was You may divide.

In short, the number of days of initial irrigation and the daily amount of water are appropriately determined. The amount of water divided every day is not always irrigated continuously every day. When the initial irrigation is divided into a plurality of times, it is possible to perform irrigation with a divided amount of water with an appropriate number of days. Further, not only the initial irrigation but also the additional irrigation can be performed by dividing into multiple times.

The additional irrigation is usually performed in the third period S3 as shown in FIG. However, in addition to the third period S3, additional irrigation may be performed in the second period S2 or the fourth period S4. The additional irrigation is performed when the water content of the soil is insufficient before the plant is harvested. If the water content of the soil is not insufficient, the additional irrigation does not have to be performed.

As described above, when irrigation is performed multiple times during one cultivation period, not only the total amount of irrigation water, but also the timing of individual irrigation and individual irrigation with respect to the current value and the target value of the pF value are determined. It is necessary to correlate information such as the amount of water used for implementation. Therefore, the control device 12 includes a correction unit 125 that adjusts the amounts of initial irrigation water and additional irrigation water. The correction unit 125 adjusts the amounts of initial irrigation and total irrigation using the input information to the interface unit 124. The input information is input to the interface unit 124 through the display 141 and the operation device 142 of the operation device 14.

The operation device 14 displays different screens when adjusting the initial irrigation water volume and when adjusting the additional irrigation water volume. In response to an instruction from the control device 12, the operation device 14 selects and displays a screen for adjusting the amount of initial irrigation water and a screen for adjusting the amount of additional irrigation water.

As shown in FIG. 5, a first input unit 144 and a second input unit 145 are provided on the screen for adjusting the amount of initial irrigation water. The first input unit 144 is configured to be able to input the amount of irrigation water carried out in the initial irrigation. Although not described in detail, the operating device 14 can specify the number of days until the completion of the initial irrigation. Then, in the first input unit 144, the amount of irrigation water for each designated day is input, and the time at which irrigation is performed is input.

The configuration example shown in FIG. 5 is an example in which the initial irrigation is designated to be completed by the 7th day. For the day, the day on which the seeding was performed is the first day, and thereafter, the day is designated by the number of days elapsed from the seeding. The first input unit 144 of this example is provided with a plurality of fields F11 (7 in this case) for the number of days until the initial irrigation is completed, and the amount of water to be irrigated on the corresponding day is input to the field F11. To be done. In this example, it is possible to perform irrigation up to 7 times as the initial irrigation, but there may be days when "0" is input as the water amount on the corresponding day. That is, the irrigation can be performed up to 7 times at the maximum, but it may include the days when the irrigation is not performed.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the time to start irrigation is common every time, and the first input unit 144 includes one field F12 for inputting the time (hour and minute). That is, in the period from seeding to the 7th day, the control device 12 enters the field F12 on the day when a value other than 0 [L] is input as the amount of irrigation water, when the time input in the field F12 is reached. The water supply device 11 is instructed to irrigate. The control device 12 includes a clock unit 126 that keeps time and date in order to enable the above-described operation.

By the way, since the control device 12 cannot automatically recognize when the seeding is performed, the user needs to instruct to start the irrigation at the time of the seeding. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the second input unit 145 provided in the operation device 14 includes an operation button B11 described as “execute” and an operation button B12 described as “stop”. The operation button B11 is operated when performing irrigation under the condition set by the first input unit 144, and the operation button B12 is operated when instructing stop of irrigation. The second input unit 145 instructs the instruction unit 123 to start irrigation so that irrigation is performed with the amount of water input to the first input unit 144.

When the operation button B12 is operated while supplying water from the water supply device 11 to the soil, the operation button B12 stops the operation of the water supply device 11 and stops the subsequent initial watering. When the operation button B12 is operated when the water supply device 11 is not supplying water to the soil, the operation button B12 stops the subsequent initial watering. Even when the initial irrigation is stopped by the operation button B12, if the operation button B11 is operated, the irrigation from the time when the operation button B11 was stopped is restarted. The operation of stopping the initial irrigation is performed when some abnormality occurs. In this case, the time for stopping the initial irrigation is about 1 hour at the longest. Therefore, the change in soil moisture up to the point when the initial irrigation is restarted can be ignored.

Although not described in detail, the operating device 14 also displays information such as the total amount of water input in the field F11 and the number of days of initial irrigation on the screen for setting conditions for initial irrigation. If the irrigation is performed only once in the initial irrigation, the set single water amount corresponds to the total water amount in the initial irrigation. In addition, when multiple irrigations are performed in the initial irrigation, the total amount of water in the multiple irrigations matches the amount of water supplied in the initial irrigation. In addition, when the irrigation is performed a plurality of times in the initial irrigation, it is desirable that the start times are the same in the plurality of irrigations, but the start times may be different.

Here, as described with reference to FIG. 2, it is assumed that the pF value to be achieved at the time of harvest is set. If the pF value to be achieved at harvest is 2.5, for example, it is desirable to appropriately perform additional irrigation during the period from the initial irrigation to the harvest so that the pF value does not exceed 2.5. Therefore, additional irrigation is performed as shown in FIG. 4 according to the soil moisture characteristic curve. In other words, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the additional irrigation is performed in the third stage, which means that the soil water content has decreased to the extent that irrigation is required at the end of the second stage.

When irrigation is performed as in the example of FIG. 4, the pF value is kept below 2.3 in the first and second growth stages, and the pF value is kept below 2.5 in the third and fourth growth stages. Additional irrigation may be used to maintain. Further, it is possible to make the target value of the pF value immediately after implementation different for each of the initial irrigation and the additional irrigation, but here, the target value of the pF value is set equal, and if the pF value reaches the threshold value, The work procedure is established so that additional irrigation will be performed urgently. The target value of the pF value immediately after performing the initial irrigation and the additional irrigation is set, for example, like the pF value at the time of irrigation in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the screen for adjusting the amount of additional irrigation water is provided with a first input unit 146 and a second input unit 147. The 1st input part 146 is comprised so that the amount of irrigation water can be input like the 1st input part 144. The second input unit 147, similarly to the second input unit 145, instructs the instruction unit 123 to start irrigation so that the irrigation is performed with the amount of water input to the first input unit 146.

The first input unit 146 includes a plurality of selection buttons B21 for selecting the amount of water when performing the additional irrigation. The amount of water selected with the selection button B21 is added for each operation of the selection button B21, and the sum total is shown in the field F21 in the screen. One of the plurality of operation buttons B21 arranged on the screen of the operation device 14 can select a negative number in order to reduce the amount of irrigation water. Further, the screen shown in FIG. 6 is also provided with a field F22 for displaying the amount of water supplied from the water supply device 11 after the start of additional watering.

The second input unit 147 includes an operation button B22 described as “immediate execution” for immediately instructing the water supply device 11 to perform additional irrigation, and an instruction to stop the water supply device 11 from the water supply device 11. The operation button B23 described as "stop irrigation" for stopping the supply of water. Furthermore, the second input unit 147 also includes an operation button B24 described as "timer execution" that starts additional watering at a preset time.

The plurality of operation buttons B21 for determining the additional irrigation water amount can instruct the increase of the additional irrigation water amount in the unit of 500 [L], and the increase and decrease of the additional irrigation water amount in the unit of 100 [L]. Can be indicated. The amount of additional irrigation water may be about 5000 [L], so not only 500 [L] but also 1000 [L], 2000 [L], 3000 [L], 5000 [L], 10000 [L], etc. An operation button B21 is provided in which the respective water amounts are associated with each other. In the field F21, the total amount of water designated by operating the operation button B21 is displayed. For example, when the operation button B21 corresponding to 3000 [L] and the operation button B21 corresponding to 1000 [L] are operated successively, 4000 [L] is displayed as the additional watering amount in the field F21.

When performing additional irrigation, it is possible to set an upper limit value for the amount of irrigation water to be implemented in one day. If the total amount of additional irrigation water exceeds the upper limit value for one day, irrigation will be performed multiple times. So that it is automatically split. When multiple irrigation is performed in the additional irrigation, it is desirable that the time interval of irrigation can be specified in units of days.

For example, in the case of performing additional irrigation of 5000 [L] and the upper limit of the daily water volume is 2000 [L], 2000 [L] for the first irrigation and 2000 [L] for the second irrigation. For the third irrigation, irrigation is performed every 3 days such as 1000 [L]. The irrigation does not have to be carried out for 3 consecutive days, and may be, for example, every other day for 3 days (that is, a total of 5 days).

When the user operates the operation device 14 according to the soil condition, the amount of additional irrigation water is stored in the storage unit 122. Since the storage unit 122 also stores the amount of initial irrigation water, by summing the amount of initial irrigation water and the amount of additional irrigation water, the amount of irrigation water carried out in one cultivation period can be known. As described above, the total amount of irrigation water is set in the conversion table corresponding to the screen of the operating device 14 shown in FIG. That is, as the amount of water set in the conversion table, in the storage unit 122, the sum of the amount of initial irrigation water set on the screen shown in FIG. 5 and the amount of additional irrigation water set on the screen shown in FIG. Is memorized. In addition, when the initial irrigation or the additional irrigation is performed on a plurality of days, the storage unit 122 stores the amount of irrigation for each day as a result.

The initial irrigation water volume and the additional irrigation water volume for determining the total irrigation water volume are adjusted by the same procedure as in the example shown in FIG. That is, if the water content of the soil at the time of harvesting the plant is excessive, at least one of the initial irrigation and additional watering is reduced, and if the water content of the soil at the time of harvesting the plant is insufficient, the initial watering and the additional watering are performed. Increase the amount of water in at least one of. The amount of water to be adjusted can be estimated based on the pF value of soil at the time of harvest. That is, when the difference between the pF value at harvest and the ideal pF value is obtained, the difference in pF value is converted into the correction amount ΔV. Here, the storage unit 122 preferably includes a conversion table for converting the difference between the pF values into the correction amount ΔV. Further, the correction amount ΔV becomes a negative value when the pF value at harvest is smaller than the ideal pF value and the water content of the soil is excessive, and when the pF value at the time of harvest is larger than the ideal pF value, the correction amount ΔV is corrected. The relationship between the difference between the pF values and the correction amount ΔV is determined so that the amount ΔV has a positive value.

When the difference between the pF values at the time of harvest is converted to the correction amount ΔV in the above-described relationship, the amount of water at the time of harvest is associated with the current value of the pF value selected in the previous cultivation period and the target value of the pF value. The amount of irrigation water is corrected by adding the correction amount obtained from the pF value. When the additional irrigation is performed in addition to the initial irrigation, the correction amount ΔV is assigned to both the initial irrigation and the additional irrigation.

In the conversion table shown in Table 1, the pF value interval is set to 0.5, but the pF value interval in the conversion table is appropriately set according to the minimum unit of the pF value measured by the measuring device 13. Can be specified in. Further, in the above configuration example, when the measuring device 13 is not connected to the control device 12, the user needs to input the current value of the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 to the control device 12 through the operation device 14. Therefore, a configuration may be adopted in which the measuring device 13 communicates with the control device 12 through the interface section 124, and the control device 12 automatically takes in the current value of the pF value. When the measurement device 13 communicates with the control device 12 and the plurality of measurement devices 13 are provided in the field, the control device 12 determines the soil water content of the field based on the pF value received from the plurality of measurement devices 13. May be configured to calculate a representative value of

Further, in the above configuration example, the total irrigation water volume is set in the conversion table, but two conversion tables may be provided so as to correspond to the initial irrigation and the additional irrigation, respectively. When this configuration is adopted, the initial irrigation water volume set on the screen shown in FIG. 5 is set in one conversion table, and the additional irrigation water volume set on the screen shown in FIG. 6 is set in the other conversion table. Is set. The conversion table is selected by operating the operation device 14 depending on whether the initial irrigation or the additional irrigation is performed.

By the way, it is desirable to use the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 in order to objectively judge whether or not to perform additional irrigation. That is, it is desirable to perform additional irrigation when the pF value reaches a predetermined value after the initial irrigation. If the pF value measured by the measuring device 13 is configured to automatically perform the additional irrigation when the pF value reaches a predetermined value, the irrigation is not started after the soil water is insufficient, It is possible to implement irrigation so that there will be no shortage.

If the condition for starting irrigation is determined by the current value of the pF value, and the soil water content due to irrigation is determined by the target value of the pF value, the determination unit 121 of the control device 12 determines that the current value of the pF value and the pF value. It is possible to automatically determine the amount of water for the combination with the target value of. That is, if the conversion table is properly determined according to the characteristics of the field and the current pF value and the target pF value are determined, it is possible to automatically perform irrigation with an appropriate amount of water. is there.

Since the initial irrigation is performed by the user immediately after sowing, automation of irrigation based on the pF value is unnecessary, but irrigation based on the pF value during the additional irrigation does not require experience and is appropriate. It becomes possible to perform irrigation. When automating the additional irrigation, the control device 12 receives the time of seeding through the operating device 14, and the clock unit 126 provided in the control device 12 measures the number of days elapsed from seeding. Then, when the current value of the pF value rises to a predetermined value during a period in which the number of days counted by the clock unit 126 is within a predetermined range, additional irrigation is automatically performed with a water amount according to the target value of the pF value. Then, the control device 12 gives an instruction to the water supply device 11. In the case of additional irrigation, irrigation may be performed a plurality of times under the conditions set in the control device 12.

The control device 12 described above is configured with a microcomputer (Microcontroller) as a main hardware element. The microcomputer is configured as a one-chip device including a processor that operates according to a program, a memory that stores a program that operates the processor, and a working memory. The control device 12 may be configured by a device selected from an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a PIC (Peripheral Interface Controller), etc., instead of a microcomputer. Alternatively, the control device 12 may include only a processor, such as an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), and may be configured by a device used by connecting a memory. The clock unit 126 is realized by, for example, a real-time clock. The control device 12 may be composed of a personal computer.

The program is provided in a state of being stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) of the memory, and may be provided in a recording medium such as a computer-readable optical disk or an external storage device. Further, the program may be provided through a telecommunication line such as the Internet. The program provided through the storage medium or the electric communication line is stored in a rewritable nonvolatile memory.

In addition, in the above-described configuration example, the case where the irrigation system 10 operates independently has been described, but the control device 12 that configures the irrigation system 10 can be shared by a plurality of irrigation systems 10. For example, the instruction unit 123 for instructing the operation of the water supply device 11 may be added to the water supply device 11, and the remaining configuration of the control device 12 may be configured by a server that communicates with the instruction unit 123. If such a configuration is adopted, if the scales are approximately the same and the environment in the area where the irrigation system 10 is installed is substantially the same, and the moisture characteristic curve of the soil is also substantially the same, then the data is stored in the storage unit 122. It is possible to share the information.

The irrigation system 10 described above includes a water supply device 11, a control device 12, and a measuring device 13. The water supply device 11 irrigates the soil for plant cultivation. The controller 12 instructs the water supplier 11 when and how much water is to be applied to the soil. The measuring device 13 measures the soil water content of the soil. The control device 12 includes a determination unit 121, a storage unit 122, an instruction unit 123, and an interface unit 124. The determination unit 121 determines the amount of water required to bring the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13. The storage unit 122 stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil. The instruction unit 123 instructs the water supply device 11 to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit 121. The interface unit 124 receives the current value measured by the measuring device 13 as input information and delivers the input information to the determining unit 121. The determination unit 121 is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device 13 with the conversion table.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily determine the amount of water to be supplied to the soil simply by checking the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 with the conversion table based on the target value of the soil moisture. That is, it is possible to easily determine the amount of water for irrigation by paying attention to the water retention capacity of the soil measured by the measuring device 13.

The interface unit 124 is preferably configured to receive input information from the operation device 14. The operation device 14 preferably includes a selection unit 143 configured to select a combination of the current value and the target value. In this case, the input information is preferably a combination of the current value and the target value selected by the selection unit 143.

According to this configuration, the user can select the combination of the current value and the target value of the soil water content by using the selection unit 143 included in the operation device 14 to determine the water amount when performing the irrigation. That is, if the user has set a target value of soil moisture, it is possible to carry out irrigation with an amount of water suitable for the soil simply by knowing the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13.

Further, the operation device 14 may include first input units 144 and 146 and second input units 145 and 147. The amount of irrigation water to be applied to the soil is input to the first input units 144 and 146. The second input units 145 and 147 instruct the instruction unit 123 to start irrigation so that the irrigation is performed with the amount of water input to the first input units 144 and 146. In this case, it is desirable that the input information is the amount of water input to the first input units 144 and 146 and the instruction to start irrigation.

According to this configuration, if the amount of water is insufficient when irrigation is performed, the insufficient amount of water is input from the first input units 144 and 146, and additional irrigation is performed to eliminate the insufficient amount of water. Is possible. In addition, if the water amount is excessive when irrigation is performed, the water amount to be irrigated is adjusted by the first input units 144 and 146 when the plant is cultivated next time, so that the water amount is excessive in the next cultivation. Can be eliminated.

In the above-described configuration, the first input units 144 and 146 are configured to input the timing and the amount of water to be irrigated a plurality of times so that the soil is irrigated a plurality of times during one cultivation period. It is desirable that

This configuration may reduce waste of water when performing irrigation by dividing and performing irrigation when the amount of irrigation water for one time is limited in consideration of the water retaining capacity of soil. There is. That is, if the amount of water for one irrigation is large, the amount of water drained as gravity water without being used by plants may increase. On the other hand, by performing irrigation in multiple times, it is possible to reduce the total amount of water drained as gravity water, and it is possible to reduce the waste of water when performing irrigation. There is.

In the above-described configuration, it is preferable that the control device 12 further includes the correction unit 125 that adjusts the amount of water associated with the combination of the current value and the target value in the conversion table based on the input information.

According to this configuration, even if the relationship between the combination of the present value of soil moisture and the target value and the water amount is different from the relationship set in the conversion table, by adjusting the conversion table, an appropriate value can be obtained. It becomes possible to supply water to the soil.

The correction unit 125 uses the current value immediately before irrigating the soil in one cultivation period and the amount of water input to the first input units 144 and 146 in the cultivation period, and uses it for the next cultivation period. It is desirable to adjust the amount of water on the table.

According to this configuration, the amount of water in the conversion table is adjusted so that the water amount adjusted by the user in the cultivation period is reflected in the next cultivation period. Therefore, while the cultivation period is repeated, the amount of water in the conversion table is an appropriate value. Can be expected to be adjusted.

The interface unit 124 may receive the current value of soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 from the measuring device 13. In this case, the determining unit 121 preferably determines the amount of water to be supplied to the soil based on the current value received from the interface unit 124 and the preset target value.

According to this configuration, when the current value of soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 is received, it becomes possible to automatically supply water from the water supply device 11 with the amount of water determined by the conversion table. Therefore, when the soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 decreases, irrigation is automatically performed, and the possibility that the soil moisture is insufficient is reduced.

In the configuration described above, it is desirable that the initial correspondence relationship between the combination of the current value and the target value and the water amount is determined based on the moisture characteristic curve of soil in the conversion table.

According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a conversion table in which the combination of the present value and the target value of the soil moisture and the water amount are associated with each other according to the soil. Although factors other than soil characteristics are not reflected in the conversion table, it is possible to set the initial contents of the conversion table to such an extent that a large error does not occur in the amount of water used for irrigation.

The measuring device 13 is preferably a tensiometer. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform appropriate measurement using a tensiometer that is widely used for measuring soil moisture.

The control device 12 described above is configured to instruct the water supply device 11 when and how much water is to be applied to the soil for plant cultivation. The control device 12 includes a determination unit 121, a storage unit 122, an instruction unit 123, and an interface unit 124. The determination unit 121 determines the amount of water required to bring the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current soil moisture value measured by the measuring device 13. The storage unit 122 stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil. The instruction unit 123 instructs the water supply device 11 to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit 121. The interface unit 124 receives the current value measured by the measuring device 13 as input information and delivers the input information to the determining unit 121. The determination unit 121 is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device 13 with the conversion table.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily determine the amount of water to be supplied to the soil simply by checking the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device 13 with the conversion table based on the target value of the soil moisture. That is, it is possible to easily determine the amount of water for irrigation by paying attention to the water retention capacity of the soil measured by the measuring device 13.

FIG. 7 briefly describes the overall configuration of the agricultural house 20 to which the irrigation system 10 as described above is applied. The agricultural house 20 includes an outer shell 21 including a frame 211 configured by combining metal pipes as a structural material, and a cover 212 supported by the frame 211.

The frame 211 is formed in an inverted U-shape that integrally includes two pillar portions arranged side by side and a connecting portion that connects one end of each of the two pillar portions. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 7, the connecting portion is formed in a smooth arc shape, but it may be formed in an inverted inverted V shape in which one end of each of two straight lines is abutted. The cover 212 is formed of a light-transmitting material. The cover 212 may be glass, but in this structural example, a synthetic resin film having translucency (desirably transparent) is used. The plurality of frames 211 are arranged in a direction intersecting with the respective surrounding surfaces, and the covering body 212 is installed on the plurality of frames 211 in a state where the plurality of frames 211 are arranged. The cover 212 covers the entire circumference of a virtual three-dimensional object formed by arranging the plurality of frames 211.

The agricultural house 20 configured in this manner includes a roof portion 200 having a semicircular cross section, a pair of side wall portions 201 that support the roof portion 200 and face each other, and a pair of wives orthogonal to the side wall portion 201 and face each other. The wall portion 202 is integrally provided. Therefore, the agricultural house 20 is formed in an inverted U shape in a cross section orthogonal to the direction connecting the end wall portions 202. The dimension in the direction connecting the pair of end wall portions 202 is designed to be sufficiently larger than the dimension in the direction connecting the pair of side wall portions 201.

In addition to the irrigation system 10 described above, various types of equipment may be arranged in such an agricultural house 20 in order to adjust the internal environment. For example, facilities such as a curtain 230 for adjusting the solar radiation to the inside of the outer shell 21 and a fan 25 for forming or ventilating an air flow in the inner space of the outer shell 21 are provided. In addition, a device for generating mist may be arranged to control the temperature of the plant. However, description of these facilities is omitted here because they are not the subject matter of the present invention.

The agricultural house 20 having the above-described configuration is an example, and is not intended to limit the configuration of the agricultural house 20 and does not prevent the agricultural house 20 from being made of another material or formed into another shape.

The agricultural house 20 described above includes the outer shell 21 in which the frame 211 supports the light-transmitting cover 212, and the irrigation system 10.

According to this configuration, since the irrigation system 10 is used in the soil in which the influence of the external environment is suppressed, it is possible to adjust the soil water content almost as intended by the contents of the conversion table used by the irrigation system 10. is there.

The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other than this embodiment, as long as it does not deviate from the technical idea of the present invention, various types according to the design etc. Of course, it can be changed.

10 Irrigation System 11 Water Supply Device 12 Control Device 13 Measuring Device 14 Operating Device 20 Agricultural House 21 Outer Shell 121 Determining Section 122 Storage Section 123 Instructing Section 124 Interface Section 125 Modifying Section 143 Selecting Section 144 (Initial Irrigation) First Input Part 145 (Initial irrigation) Second input part 146 (Additional irrigation) First input part 147 (Additional irrigation) Second input part 211 Frame 212 Cover

Claims (11)

A water supply device for irrigating the soil for plant cultivation,
A control device for instructing the water supply device when and how much water is to be applied to the soil;
A measuring device for measuring the soil water content of the soil,
The control device is
A determination unit that determines the amount of water required to set the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device,
A storage unit that stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil,
An instruction unit for instructing the water supply device to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit,
An interface unit that receives at least the first information including the current value measured by the measuring device and delivers the first information to the determination unit;
The determination unit is
The irrigation system is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device with the conversion table. The interface unit is configured to receive the first information from an operating device,
The operating device is
A selection unit configured so that a combination of the current value and the target value can be selected,
The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the first information is a combination of the current value and the target value selected by the selection unit. The interface unit is configured to receive the second information from the operating device,
The operating device is
A first input unit for inputting the amount of irrigation water to be applied to the soil;
A second input unit for instructing the instruction unit to start irrigation so that irrigation is performed with the amount of water input to the first input unit;
Said second information, irrigation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein is and the first input unit is input to the said amount of water and is input to the second input unit the irrigation start instruction. The first input unit is
The irrigation system according to claim 3, wherein the irrigation system is configured so that the time and the amount of water to be irrigated a plurality of times are input so that the soil is irrigated a plurality of times during one cultivation period. The control device is
The irrigation system according to claim 3, further comprising a correction unit that adjusts the amount of water associated with the combination of the current value and the target value in the conversion table based on the second information . The correction unit is
Based on the current value immediately before watering the soil in one cultivation period and the water amount input to the first input unit in the cultivation period, the water amount in the conversion table used in the next cultivation period. The irrigation system according to claim 5, wherein The interface section is
Receives the current value of the soil moisture measured by the measuring device from the measuring device,
The determination unit is
The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein an amount of water supplied to the soil is determined based on the current value received from the interface unit and the predetermined target value. In the conversion table, an initial correspondence relationship between the combination of the current value and the target value and the water amount is determined based on a moisture characteristic curve of the soil. Irrigation system. The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device is a tensiometer. A control device for instructing a water supply device when and how much water is to be applied to soil for plant cultivation,
A determination unit that determines the amount of water required to set the soil moisture to a predetermined target value with respect to the current value of the soil moisture of the soil measured by the measuring device,
A storage unit that stores a conversion table in which a combination of the current value and the target value is associated with the amount of water supplied to the soil,
An instruction unit for instructing the water supply device to irrigate the soil with the amount of water determined by the determination unit,
An interface unit that receives at least the first information including the current value measured by the measuring device and delivers the first information to the determination unit;
The determination unit is
The control device for the irrigation system, which is configured to determine the amount of water supplied to the soil by collating the current value measured by the measuring device with the conversion table. An outer shell on which the frame supports the light-transmissive coating,
An irrigation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising: an agricultural house.

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