Climate change, prolonged periods without rainfall and increasingly severe droughts are transforming agricultural production and highlighting the importance of responsible water resource management. To contribute to the development of more sustainable irrigation practices, researchers from the Agronomy Group at the BioSense Institute are studying how agricultural crops respond to different irrigation regimes and water application levels.

The research includes monitoring crop growth and development, as well as analysing the uniformity of water distribution in linear irrigation systems. Researchers assess whether water reaches all parts of a field evenly and examine how differences in its distribution affect plant condition.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles plays an important role in this research. Aerial imagery and data allow researchers to monitor crops across large areas, identify spatial variations within fields and detect signs of water stress that are not always easily visible from the ground.

By combining data on irrigation system performance with information about plant responses, researchers can establish a more reliable basis for making precise decisions in agricultural production. This approach may help ensure that water is applied where it is needed, at the right time and in quantities that support crop development without unnecessary waste.

The research is being conducted in cooperation with the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade, on commercial agricultural fields and under real production conditions. Fieldwork enables scientific findings to be tested in practice and directed towards solutions that can offer tangible benefits to agricultural producers.

The work of the Agronomy Group at the BioSense Institute contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between water, crops and technology. The findings may support improved irrigation practices, help safeguard agricultural production and strengthen the capacity of domestic agriculture to adapt to increasingly challenging climate conditions.