The head of the innovation and technology center of the country's natural resources and watershed management organization said: Smart irrigation of the country's natural resource nurseries will reduce water consumption by 40% on average.

According to the Mehr News Agency, citing the Ministry of Jihad of Agriculture, Hamidreza Soleimani added: "Reviews of the plan to use smart technologies in the country's natural resource nurseries have been carried out, and based on the plans, this plan is to be implemented in Alborz province as a pilot, and if the result is If it is acceptable, it will be implemented in some other provinces in the first phase.

The head of the Innovation and Technology Center of Iran's Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization stated: The issue of using smart irrigation technologies in the nurseries of this organization with the help of knowledge-based companies was raised in March of last year for the purpose of managing water resources, and according to the implementation of the popular plan to plant one billion Trees and the need to increase seedling production require that nurseries be more active and equipped with new and smart irrigation technologies.

He said: Due to the limited water resources in the country and the challenges related to it, it is necessary to review and revise the management of water resources in the nurseries of the country.

Soleimani added: In order to apply smart irrigation technologies in forest nurseries, we have identified a number of knowledge-based companies, the basis of which this technology works in these companies is mostly focused on the two components of evaporation management - plant transpiration and soil moisture.

By stating that smart irrigation is mainly based on the measurement of these two components, he clarified: other environmental parameters such as temperature are also measured and ultimately the goal is to provide water to the plant based on the actual need and at the right time. take

At the same time, Soleimani expressed his hope that by the end of this year, the contract for the implementation of this project will be made in Alborz province and the next project will be carried out in Ilam.

The head of the Innovation and Technology Center of Iran's Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization stated that the implementation of the plan to use smart irrigation technologies is costly, and said: The costs of this plan are significant in comparison with water saving and water management in nurseries in water shortage conditions.

He continued: The implementation costs of the pilot projects in Alborz and Ilam will be financed from the funds of the Natural Resources Organization, and we will use the financial support of industries and supporters of the popular campaign to plant one billion trees in the general discussion and generalization of this plan to other nurseries.

Soleimani explained: In the plan to use smart technologies in nurseries, we will use several technologies, including the Internet of Things, along with other practical technologies.

He listed optimal irrigation management, proper growth of seedlings, increasing the productivity and quality of produced seedlings, and optimal use of soil food resources among the advantages of using smart technologies.