The more information you have about your growing environment the more precise you can be with your action, hence the term precision agriculture. “Step one is to know what is taking place in your grow room and step two is to take corrective actions to bring your environment to the optimal levels,” says Alex Babich, founder of Nuravine. “Plants need certain conditions to perform at their best, and this requires the utmost attention to every detail.”
This is one of the reasons that Nuravine has developed Aurora, a smart monitoring system that constantly keeps track of what is happening in the irrigation system, so it can perform tasks based on that information. The system comes with 5 different sensors that measure pH, EC, DO, ORP, and temperature. “This information gives growers many dimensions of insight about the conditions of their plant's water and nutrient solution,” Alex says.
Alex Babich
Preventing cultivation issues
Preventing issues before they arise is crucial in CEA cultivation, as what seems to be going fine might conceal something bigger that will eventually affect the yield. If you are only looking at 2 parameters instead of 5 then it's possible that everything looks fine, when in fact it is not. For example, your pH and EC seem to be at the correct level, but your ORP could be low meaning that there may be a pathogenic buildup happening in your reservoir. Knowing this sooner rather than later means you can make corrections before any harm is done to your plants.
“With the Aurora,” Alex remarks, “growers can constantly monitor and easily make adjustments so that plants are always under optimal conditions.” For instance, the system can automatically adjust the EC levels when the plants are asking for it. The Aurora will inject the desired ratios of nutrients until your reservoir reaches the desired level. “It’s an intelligent system that is able to figure out what and how much is needed to add,” says Alex.
Installation by Deep Roots Cultivation
Growing data
Alex and the Nuravine team are constantly working to make the system more advanced. “We are working on a feature that would allow the system to incorporate many more types of sensors, and actuators which allow you to complete almost any task you can think of. It’s almost like we are inventing the new programming language of indoor farming, with hardware included!” By doing this, the Nuravine system lends itself perfectly to experimenting with different techniques and carrying out unique processes.
Work remotely
Integrated camera
Eventually, there could be a machine learning camera system integrated into the hardware, which would allow the system to make decisions based on plant health and adjust nutrient formulations or environmental conditions. “We are building the infrastructure to implement all of this and add more features according to what the client requires. We are continuously improving our machines to always be ahead of the curve. This is a very fast-paced, and innovative industry. So, a grower has to partner with the fastest innovators to stand out in such a competitive market.”
For more information:
Alex Babich, Founder and CEO
Nuravine
www.nuravine.com