Advanced weighing equipment for water, crop growth and climate control management

Measurements of crop transpiration have been carried out by the Applied Plant Research station in Naaldwijk for many years with increasingly better weighing equipment. Ultimately a weighing gutter system has been developed that operates well under practical conditions and is a useful tool in crop management. The APR-Naaldwijk weighable gutter system monitors the water management of greenhouse crops and offers information for checking and automatically regulating the water supply. The collected data offer additional information on climate control and fresh weight growth of the crop. The system and results from testing are presented in this paper.