
If you look at global supplies, thencustomizable multi-channel water and fertilizer systemsThe main volume of purchases really consistently comes from Russia - and these are not just numbers from the report, but what we in Shandong Lingyao observe based on real applications. Many people mistakenly believe that the key factor is price, but in reality it all comes down to adaptation to local conditions: the length of the season, the composition of the water, temperature changes.
When we started projects withmain buyer countries, then we thought that basic automation was enough. But in Russia, especially in greenhouse complexes near Moscow or in the Krasnodar Territory, the need for zoned irrigation and differentiated supply of fertilizers quickly became clear. The soil is not the same everywhere, and the water from the well does not have the same pH everywhere.
I remember one of the first orders was for a farm in the Rostov region - the customer complained that with the standard scheme, part of the plantings “burned”. from an excess of potassium, and the other did not receive enough magnesium. We had to revise the design of distribution units and add independent channels with separate sensors.
Now our systems, which are supplied by Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC, use a module with 6–12 channels, and each is configured not only by time, but also by EC/pH indicators. This is not a theory - such solutions are already working in Tatarstan and the Voronezh region.
Water is a separate headache. In the same Stavropol region, water hardness can reach 8–9 mEq/l, and if additional filters with automatic flushing are not installed, the drippers fail within a season. In Lingyao, we first tried universal filters, but then switched to prefabricated configurations for a specific water source.
With fertilizers it is even more difficult. Russian farmers often use local brands of fertilizers, which can produce sediment when mixed in a common tank. Therefore, a multi-channel system allows you to separate the supply - for example, one channel for calcium nitrate, the other for phosphorus fertilizers.
On the website https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru we indicate that we design systems taking into account the chemical composition of fertilizers. This is not an advertising phrase - after several cases of sedimentation in public highways, we began to test the compatibility of fertilizers before launch.
In 2020, we supplied a batch of systems with European soil moisture sensors. They didn’t take into account that in Siberia the soil freezes to a depth of 1.5 meters, and the sensors failed in the first winter. We had to urgently develop insulated casings and change the calibration logic.
Another mistake is excessive automation. We offered clients from Bashkiria a completely autonomous control mode via the cloud, but it turned out that many farms prefer manual control at critical stages - for example, during fruit formation. Now we always leave redundant mechanical valves.
It was cases like this that forced us at Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC to reconsider our approach to design. Now each project includes a field survey stage - either our engineers go to the site, or we organize a test run at a mini-site.
Few people mention that at low temperatures plastic pipes forwater and fertilizersmay become brittle. We switched to composite materials with the addition of fiberglass - more expensive, but they can withstand changes from -30°C to +45°C.
Another important point is protecting electronics from power surges. In Russian villages there are problems with this, so we began to install stabilizers directly in control cabinets. This increases the cost of the system by 5–7%, but reduces the number of warranty claims to almost zero.
We should also say something about the software. Initially, we made the interface in English, but quickly realized that older generation agronomists often work with Russian-language software. Now all control panels are localized, plus voice notifications in Russian have been added.
Judging by the applications we receive, there will be an increasing demand for hybrid solutions - for example, a combination of drip irrigation and aeration. In the same Krasnodar region, there are already experiments with the supply through separate channels of not only fertilizers, but also biological products for plant protection.
Another trend is integration with weather stations. Previously, weather data was used sporadically, but now systems can automatically adjust watering schedules based on forecast precipitation and air humidity. This is especially true for regions with an unstable climate, such as the Altai Territory.
As the practice of Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC shows, the future belongs to adaptive systems, wherecustomizable multichannelsolutions work in conjunction with AI algorithms. But this needs to be introduced gradually - first in pilot farms, as we are now doing in the Leningrad region.