Development of an Automated and Adaptable Novel Irrigation System for Greenhouse Expansion to Efficiently meet the Water and Nutrient Needs of Various Tree and Plant Species

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A Canadian company founded in 2010, Native Trees and Plants (NTP) is a pioneer in producing native plants for sale in the southwestern Ontario region. Presently, NTP has built a 3rd greenhouse that will triple their current output to over 5000 ft2 of greenhouse space along with 1000 ft2 of outdoor growing space. Although, due to the size of the new greenhouse it is not possible to efficiently water all the plants that it will contain using their current methods. In addition, a standard greenhouse irrigation system is not sufficient as NTP has many different species with varied water and nutrient needs, and currently there is not a product on the market that will meet these needs. Therefore, NTP has decided to develop and adapt a greenhouse irrigation system to meet these requirements. However, NTP also requires expertise in the instrumentation, control, and automation to properly control the developed system, as well as proper programming, hardware and software, and training to complete the adaptable overhead irrigation system. The collaborative project with Lambton College and NTP will focus on developing an overhead greenhouse irrigation system that is automated and adaptable to a variety of different plant types, sizes, and layouts. The success of the project has the potential to deploy the solution on a commercial scale to sell units across Canada, as well as double NTP output of native trees and plants. Depending on specific customer needs and market growth, annual sales could range from 15-30 units per year, roughly equating to $225,000-$450,000 per year in annual revenues. The new irrigation system will positively benefit customers that use overhead irrigation through reduced water usage, increased growth, and decreased incidence of disease due to better water management and savings on infrastructure costs. It is also estimated to generate 2-3 additional full-time positions in the short-term and an estimated additional 3 full-time positions in the next 2-4 years.