Preliminary Results of a Real-Time DSS Based on SIMULHYDRO Software for Prediction of Water Consumption and Ion Composition of the Recirculating Nutrient Solution of Two Closed-Loop Soilless Tomatoes

This work describes a Decision Support System (DSS) based on SIMULHYDRO software for predicting evapotranspiration (ETc) and ion composition on the recirculating nutrient solution of two greenhouse soilless tomato crops (cv. Pis anello, a local landrace Tuscany variety, and cv. Genio, a cherry tomato). The research activity was conducted in the framework of the iGUESS-MED project. The DSS model uses the following inputs to estimate the daily ETc and the ion composition of the recirculating nutrient solution: i) the climatic parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, inside global radiation) constantly registered by the climate station OPI-EV JA, ii) the nutrient solution recipe, iii) the water ion composition, iv) the tomato nutrient uptake concentrations, and v) greenhouse dimension parameters. Soil moisture dielectric sensors (TEROS 12) were calibrated and validated for the real-time monitoring of the electrical conductivity of the substrate in the root zone. Our work conducted in the experimental greenhouse of DAFE-University of Pisa in the spring-summer 2024 period, demonstrated that this DSS model can predict evapotranspiration and optimize the fertigation in a semi-closed soilless system for the tomato crop.