The cultivation of the black truffle constitutes a new source of resources, with growing economic and social importance, especially in depopulated Spain. Holm oak plots are mostly located in areas of low rainfall and degraded soils, so irrigation is a basic task, given the current context of low rainfall. Knowledge of the physiological state of the oak in response to water stress is perceived as a value proposition to establish the need for irrigation in truffle plantations, optimizing truffle production in terms of quantity and quality parameters. To achieve this, digital technologies such as IoT, sensors, Cloud, and Machine Learning (all applied in WATERTRUF) play a fundamental role, as they allow end users to monitor and understand in real-time the water status of the plantation.
Phase 1 of the project, already completed, included work focused on integrating data from field sensors and third-party sensors into a web app infrastructure, allowing easy visualization. Additionally, this web app incorporates a manual irrigation input application for farmers, providing end users with an evidence-based tool for the simple and intuitive management of truffle plantations. Phase 1 also included the development of a prototype based on Near Infrared (NIR) technology for quantifying the water status of holm oak trees in truffle plantations, which will be evaluated in a laboratory environment.
The WATERTRUF industrial research project aims to optimize irrigation management in holm oak truffle plantations through the combined use of new, non-destructive digital technologies that enable continuous monitoring and real-time tracking of the tree’s physiological state. The goal is to gather sufficient data to develop intelligent algorithms that generate irrigation recommendations.
The objective of the new Phase 2 of the project is to develop the artificial intelligence system, which, through Big Data analysis of the field-collected information, will generate irrigation recommendations. This Phase 2 also includes the field validation of the Near Infrared sensor.
All this will allow the truffle industry to improve production both in quantity and quality, optimizing the inputs (water and energy) used.
The consortium is led by the Cluster for Efficient Water Use (ZINNAE) with the participation of the Aragonese Food Cluster (ARAGON INNOVALIMEN), the Agri-Food Research and Technology Center of Aragón (CITA), the Carlos III University of Madrid, as well as the companies MYTRUFF S.L. and ARATECK ELECTRONICS S.L.
Phase 2 of the WATERTRUF Project has received support from the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, under the 2023 call for grants for Innovative Business Clusters, with the aim of improving the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.
