Precision Lysimeter System Cocoa Research Facility-
"MARS Inc."
Irrigation & Nutrient Treatments
The trees can be divided into six treatment groups, with each treatment applied to four lysimeters. Separate controlled connections for water and fertilizer solution allow different irrigation and nutrient regimes to be applied across the groups.
Treatment tanks, pumps, valves and hydraulic equipment prepare and distribute the solutions, while delivered quantities are measured at the lysimeter. A stock-solution subsystem prepares concentrated nutrient solutions, and operating parameters can be configured through the control system for different experimental programs.
Plant, Root-Zone & Environmental Measurements
Electrical conductivity sensors monitor the EC of drainage from the individual lysimeters. Soil-moisture sensors and selected soil-temperature measurements provide information from the growing medium.
Some lysimeters also include dendrometers for direct measurement of trunk diameter. The units used in the system provide a resolution of approximately 2.5 microns and are connected directly to the control system.
Weather information is incorporated through communication with the site's Campbell CR1000 data logger.
Control & Data Acquisition
A main controller works together with dedicated row controllers serving the field equipment. Signals from the scales and instruments are acquired, calibrated and converted into engineering values.
Crystal OPC provides the central interface for operating the experiment, viewing current measurements, configuring treatments, reviewing historical data and performing calibration.
Engineering & Installation in Ecuador
The system was engineered in Israel and built at the La Chola research farm in Ecuador. Equipment manufacturing and preparation for international shipment progressed in parallel with civil and hydraulic work on site.
CrystalVision visited Ecuador during the civil-works stage to inspect the construction and verify that the foundations, elevations and routes matched the design. The team later returned for installation, integration, testing, commissioning and operator guidance.
The Result
The installation has supported cocoa research at La Chola for several years. It provides a practical way to collect repeatable quantitative measurements from mature trees under controlled irrigation and nutrient treatments, at a scale far beyond a conventional laboratory lysimeter.
CrystalVision also produced technical documentation covering operation, calibration, maintenance and troubleshooting, helping the local team support the installation over time.
Related Solutions
Lysimeter Systems
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Crystal OPC
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Designing and delivering
a 24-tree research facility
for "MARS Inc."
in Ecuador
Client: "MARS" Inc.
Location: La Chola Research Farm, Ecuador
Application: Cocoa research
System: 24 large weighing lysimeters with irrigation, fertigation, drainage measurement, instrumentation and centralized control
Project Summary
MARS needed a way to study water use and nutrient treatments in mature cocoa trees under controlled growing conditions. CrystalVision engineered the installation from the civil foundations and weighing structures through irrigation, instrumentation, control and commissioning, creating a dedicated research site at La Chola.
The Challenge - Measuring
a Full-Size Cocoa Tree
Each tree was planted in an approximately 1,100-liter container. The weighing system therefore had to support a very large static load while still detecting relatively small changes caused by irrigation, drainage and plant water use.
The experiment also required separate measurements for every tree, including both the main lysimeter weight and the water leaving through drainage. Achieving that level of measurement at this physical scale was the central engineering challenge.
Designing the Research Facility
CrystalVision designed the site layout, weighing structures, irrigation and drainage routes, equipment locations, electrical and communication infrastructure and the civil works beneath the system.
The design included concrete structures, elevations, slopes and drainage trenches. Stable, correctly levelled foundations were essential for the weighing platforms, while the site geometry had to support reliable drainage collection.
The irrigation equipment and local hydraulic installation were supplied and installed through Netafim Ecuador according to CrystalVision's system design and specifications.
24 Large Precision Weighing Lysimeters
The lysimeters are arranged in four rows of six. Each cocoa tree sits on a dedicated steel platform equipped with four 500 kg load cells, giving a total weighing capacity of approximately 2,000 kg.
The specified load cells have a maximum error below 0.03% of full scale - equivalent to less than 600 grams at the full load. Adjustable supports allow each platform to be levelled and balanced accurately during installation.
Measuring the Water Balance
Leachate from every lysimeter is collected in a dedicated container on a separate scale. Each drainage scale has a capacity of 100 kg and a resolution of 10 grams.
Together with the 24 main platforms, this creates 48 independent weighing systems. Irrigation delivered to each lysimeter is also measured locally, allowing researchers to compare water applied, changes in total lysimeter mass and drainage collected.