An agricultural method includes providing a positive air pressure chamber to prevent outside contaminants from entering the chamber; growing crops in a plurality of cells in the chamber, each cell having multi-grow benches or levels, each cell further having connectors to vertical hoists for vertical movements in the chamber; maintaining pre-set temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, watering and lighting levels to achieve predetermined plant growth; using motorized transport rails to deliver benches for operations including seeding, harvesting, grow media recovery, and bench wash; dispensing seeds in the cell with a mechanical seeder coupled to the transport rails; growing the crops with computer controlled nutrients, light and air level; and harvesting the crops and delivering the harvested crop at a selected outlet of the chamber.

Technologies are described for devices and methods to irrigate a crop. The systems may comprise an irrigation processor configured to be in communication with, a memory, a soil moisture tension sensor, an infrared camera, and a valve. The irrigation processor may receive an input, soil moisture tension data, infrared data, ambient temperature data, humidity data, and weather data, and store each in the memory. The input may include a crop, an area planted, and a location. The irrigation processor may generate an output of a crop water stress index. The irrigation processor may generate a water requirement. The irrigation processor may determine an irrigation requirement. The irrigation processor may generate a determination to irrigate based on the soil moisture tension data, the output of the crop water stress index, and the irrigation requirement. The irrigation processor may operate the valve to irrigate based on the determination to irrigate.

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for providing an irrigation scheduling module including a graphical user interface for providing irrigation scheduling data for a given field location. According to a preferred embodiment, the irrigation scheduling module is configured to calculate and display an irrigation recommendation for a given set of forecast data. According to a further preferred embodiment, the irrigation recommendation includes a representative shape in the form of a circle which changes from a full circle to a crescent-shaped percentage of the full circle based on the field moisture status.

A garden hose flow control valve has a main body, a positioning block, a connecting disk and a timer. The main body has an intake opening and at least an outlet opening, and a pivoting portion is provided on one side. The pivoting portion includes two trunnions. The trunnion has a limiting protrusion, and the positioning block has a through hole and is provided with a plurality of first positioning recesses. The connecting disk is provided with a first positioning pin pushed by the first spring. A protrusion is provided on the side surface and a sleeve is extended, and the second positioning recess is provided on the outer ring of the sleeve. The timer is installed in a movable housing, and a connecting opening is on one side of the movable housing. The connecting opening is provided with a second positioning pin pushed by the second spring.

ASPSS is a smart sprinkler controller device that; 1. Measures many factors such as soil humidity of a sprinkler zone, surface temperature of that zone, atmospheric humidity. 2. Primary interface is through a mobile/web application. a. The said application enables users to fine tune parameters such as threshold humidity, threshold temperature etc. for operation. 3. Integrates directly with weather data providers. 4. Waits in case of prediction of precipitation before deciding to operate. Has an internal algorithm, that determines operation of solenoid-valves that switch on or off to provide water to sprinkler-heads. 6. Decides if there is any requirement for additional moisture at a zone and whether operating the sprinkler-heads of that zone will not end up with most of it evaporating,

An irrigation system comprises an irrigation controller that receives user input and provides a power signal and command and message data to an encoder. The encoder encodes the command and message data onto the power signal to provide a data encoded power waveform that is sent over a two-wire path. The irrigation system further comprises one or more decoders in communication with the two-wire path to receive the data encoded power waveform and one or more irrigation valves in communication with the one or more decoders. The data encoded power waveform provides power to the decoders and the decoders decode the command and message data from the data encoded power waveform to control the irrigation valves according to the user input.

An intelligent planting apparatus an intelligent planting management method controls planting processes of plants in a plurality of planting devices within different environments, and includes data collection step, classification-marking step, and regulation step. Collected data comprise: plants' planting information, environment information of planting devices, planting condition information and plant features. Classifying the collected data, scoring and comparing the plant features in each planting devices according to preset conditions under same category, and marking and storing respective planting condition information of the planting device with high planting feature score in a plant growing cycle. Comparing the current planting condition information with the stored marked planting condition information according to planting and environment information of respective planting device. If difference therebetween exceeds threshold, a regulation data is generated according to the stored marked planting condition information and the current planting condition information to regulate planting condition of respective planting device.

A system (10) with sensor equipment (30) including one or more sensors (140,142) and watering equipment (20) disposed on a parcel of land and configured to selectively apply water to the parcel, and a gateway (40) configured to provide for communication with the sensor equipment (30) and the watering equipment (20). The watering equipment (20) comprises a watering pump (120), wherein the watering pump (120) is operably coupled to a water source (100) and a water line (110) to alternately couple the water source (100) to and isolate the water source (100) from the water line (110). The watering pump (120) further includes a pump sensor assembly (155) configured to detect environmental and operational parameters and processing circuitry (160) configured to direct the watering pump (120) based on detected environmental and operational parameters.

In one embodiment, a method for optimizing downstream processes for a plurality of flow controllers includes determining a water budget for the plurality of flow controllers based on utility information and a water amount used by the flow devices controlled by the plurality of flow controllers; determining, by a processing element, a run time water amount used by the flow devices controlled by the plurality of flow controllers during a watering run time of the flow devices; modifying, by the processing element, watering schedules for the flow devices controlled by the plurality of flow controllers when the water amount used deviates from the water budget; and transmitting, by the processing element, the modified watering schedules to the plurality of flow controllers to vary the operation of the flow devices controlled by the plurality of flow controllers.

A first beam source radiates, as a reference beam, 905 nm of near infrared beam having a characteristic in which light tends not to be absorbed in water toward a leaf of a plant. A second beam source radiates, as a measuring beam, 1550 nm of near infrared beam having a characteristic in which light tends to be absorbed in water toward the leaf of the plant. A threshold level setter/water content index detector calculates a water content index of one leaf which is a total sum Σ Ln (I.sub.905/I.sub.1550) of the reflection intensity ratio. A controller displays a graph representing the time-serial change of the water content contained in the plant from the start to the end of the measurement period on a UI screen of a monitor. Further, the controller is connected to an environmental control device that controls environmental conditions surrounding the plant, and instructs the control device to change or maintain the environmental conditions based on a change of increase and decrease in the water content contained in the calculated plant.