Use Case

WaterBit and Kanpeki Rice

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roots remain saturated in standing water – resulting in a 15-25% water savings. "We learned that a lot of the characteristics of the physiology of rice are improved when it's in a drier environment and isn't constantly in moisture," says Greg. "You have less risk of airborne pathogens, fungus and stem rot. The grain is dramatically healthier." In fact, only one herbicide is used to control 90% of the weeds and it never comes in contact with the rice thereby eliminating any possibility of chemical residue on the rice. Dry-farming has other positive environmental impacts, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions like methane that breed in oxygen-free, water-saturated environments. Kanpeki's WaterBit deployment includes a combination of WaterBit Carbon ™ nodes and soil moisture probes that perform in-field monitoring and data collection. The Carbon nodes are waterproof, compact, solar-powered, battery-free, long-range (LoRa) radio-powered devices that are placed directly in the rice fields and collect in-field data from soil moisture probes. The probes are are inserted 48 inches into the soil and pull six sensor-depth readings. Carbon nodes stay out of the way of harvest operations and require no towers inside the field's perimeter, so aerial operations like crop duster seeding and other aerial applications can happen as regularly scheduled. Carbon nodes communicate with WaterBit Connect, ™ our cellular gateway, which relays the information to the cloud and into the WaterBit Dashboard ™ where Greg can view the soil moisture and temperature data on his computer or mobile device from anywhere, at any time. (Kanpeki does not yet employ WaterBit's Block Valve Controller ™ that automatically opens and closes valves. Rice growers spend upwards of 50% of their time in-season irrigating, shutting and opening gates. In the future, WaterBit plans to work with Greg on tuning solutions to automate this time consuming task.) WaterBit provides Greg with real-time ground-level precision data about the soil moisture and temperature levels of his rice fields. Accordingly, he says he can can "pinpoint when I bring my floods in, or my flushes across for saturation, so that I'm not wasting energy before I need to." Greg also uses the WaterBit data to help him protect the rice against invasive weed species. Rice can out-survive a weed that is deprived of water, which is extremely important to growing in a sustainable environment with the use of minimal herbicides. "(In the past,) I used experience and historical knowledge to really guess through trial and error what those accurate points were. WaterBit allows me to now have the metrics to know exactly how and when my soil is going to be at what moisture and temperature," says Greg. "WaterBit provides me with tremendous knowledge." Greg may be a native to California, but he is thinking globally and wants to "apply the WaterBit technology and bring it to some of the most impoverished parts of the agriculture and rice-producing parts of the world." Currently, he is working with rice growers in Chiang Rai region of Northern Thailand where he has created a small research farm. Greg's goal is to first "learn the true power and implication of the WaterBit technology and then transition and start applying it" across the globe. "WaterBit is applying technology in a smart, rational, logical manner to try and solve and quantify issues and make the agricultural industry more efficient. With exponential global population growth, it is critical to apply all of the science, technology and communication we can, to understanding the best, most sustainable, efficient practices" so that food production can serve the needs of the world and those who rely on rice for sustenance. Greg is looking to use "the amazing knowledge and power that WaterBit offers and see how it can be applied on a scalable fashion" to help feed this forever growing world. About WaterBit WaterBit's automated irrigation solution enables control of local irrigation taking into account growth stage and soil conditions at a level of granularity and accuracy that is not possible with other current methods. WaterBit translates technology into tangible value for growers to improve yields, optimize water usage and implement labor saving strategies. Learn more at www.waterbit.com "WaterBit is applying technology in a smart, rational, logical manner to try and solve and quantify issues and make the agricultural industry more efficient." G R E G VA N DY K E WaterBit, Inc | 5870 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose, CA 95138 | 1.408.618.6900 | waterbit.com ©2019 WaterBit, Inc. All rights reserved. Waterbit and the Waterbit logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Waterbit, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Information is subject to change without notice.

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