Sarapoint Global Ltd. 1

Micrometeorology Web System and Custom Hardware Array for Fruit Growers

 

CHALLENGE

Ontario’s complex weather, coupled with unique microclimates, make farm management actions and decisions difficult. Shifting and irregular climates in recent years have made measuring and monitoring micrometeorology a required element of good tender fruit growing. Micrometeorology is the study of small changes over the course of seconds, and it is specific to a combination of field, terroir, land, and/or microclimate combination. The current problem facing tender fruit producers is that the weather data used for decisions is from general sources, such as standard weather reports, industry weather data and/or simple on-site installed temperature tools, with little to no analysis.

SOLUTION

Sarapoint and Niagara College collaborated to test the proof of concept for micrometeorology hardware, called the Agrotelligent MicroMeteorology Node (AMMN), and to develop the Agrotelligent Web System (AWS). The AMMN will gather micrometeorology air temperature and relative humidity data at multiple heights (1 metre and 3 metres). The AMMN will sense, gather, and display micrometeorology air temperature and relative humidity at a rate of once per second. The AWS will collect, analyze, store, and visualize the AMMN micrometeorology data to provide actionable information to growers.