ReDuCit project - poster

Title: ReDuCit Project Poster: Building a More Sustainable Agriculture Based on Robust, Scalable Applications of Controlled Deficit Irrigation Strategies Description: This poster presents the ReDuCit project, a 24-month initiative focused on developing sustainable irrigation strategies for citrus crops in the Guadalquivir River Basin (Spain). The project addresses the critical challenge of maintaining agricultural productivity while reducing water consumption in a region where citrus represents 5.1% of the irrigated area but accounts for 9.7% of water demand, and where climate projections indicate a 10% reduction in water availability by 2039. Project objectives include: Designing and validating an integrated system for monitoring water status and production in citrus crops Establishing a replicable and scalable model applicable to other crops Developing a digital platform for optimized irrigation management Implementing a robust Regulated Deficit Irrigation Control model capable of reducing water consumption by 15-25% Technical approach: The project combines water status monitoring (using sap flow sensors, trunk stem dendrometers, and microtensiometers on reference trees), production tracking (through autonomous RGB-D cameras with AI for fruit detection and measurement), and an integrated digital platform providing real-time data collection, automated irrigation recommendations, and personalized management alerts. Expected impact: Potential water savings of 60 million m³/year in citrus crops from the Guadalquivir region alone, representing 20% of the required reduction in the agricultural sector by 2039. Consortium: OnTech Innovation, Rovimatica, Universidad de Sevilla, Soltel Group Funding: Co-financed by European Funds through Junta de Andalucía and the Spanish Ministry of Finance Validation: Real-world testing in collaboration with the Irrigation Community of the Lower Guadalquivir Valley Bilingual poster (English/Spanish) Keywords: precision agriculture, deficit irrigation, water management, citrus crops, digital agriculture, IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, sustainability, Guadalquivir, smart farming