Australian farmers have no qualms about adopting new technology, provided it helps them manage more profitably.
Mobile phone technology
There comes a point in product development where one has to put aside market surveys, pick up a soldering iron and take a punt on the future direction of technology.
MEA's bet landed on rapid development of mobile phone technology, with the internet as a means of delivering data to growers whether they were on-farm, in the office or even in Australia.
Plexus sensor-to-web radio networks were born
Plexus monitoring systems sweep on-farm soil moisture data across the property to a central hub and beam it all up automatically to the web and a web-application called Green Brain.
No mobile phone apps to download, only one phone account (looked after by MEA) and a whole raft of possible sensors.
The Plexus-Green Brain duo was rolled out in 2013 after three years under test on a 250 hectare commercial vineyard, where it got thoroughly beaten up.
Only after that humbling experience was MEA able to claim that they'd nailed the 'robust' part of the specification and could proceed with some confidence to commercial release.
Green Brain
If you'd like to get a sense of the way Green Brain presents data, you can visit the MEA demonstration site in South Australia's famous Barossa Valley.
Just go to www.greenbrain.net.au Once the login screen has opened, you can use the Username:
Once in, feel free to roam about and explore the features.
Clicking on the Shiraz West site shows graphs for Soil Moisture Tension (from Gypsum Blocks) and battery available.
Open the Shiraz East site to display values for Soil Moisture Content and Soil Temperature, at eight depths, from EnviroPro probes.
The 'Temp Profile' site shows you the temperature profile from below the soil to above the vine canopy at four different heights. Check out the frost conditions at dawn on 25 August 2014.
To the right of the graph you'll find icons for Calendar, Full & Refill lines, places to add irrigation and rainfall data and so on. Have a tinker.
Suitable for most crop types
Plexus is suitable for most crop types—with the right mounting solution.
For tree crops a mast that allows the radio units to peer over the canopy, and tilts down out of the way during harvesting and maintenance operations is available.
Since its release, Plexus has found its way into apples, almonds, olives, avocados, pecans, citrus and macadamias.
Contact Joe, phone 08 8332 9044
e-mail
web www.mea.com.au
