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Root-Zone Management

Manage water content, EC, irrigation timing, dry-backs and drain to create more consistent root-zone conditions throughout the crop cycle.

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Build consistency from the root zone up

Consistent root development and stable root-zone conditions provide the foundation for uniform crop growth. Monitoring water content, electrical conductivity, root-zone temperature, irrigation activity, dry-backs and drain helps growers understand how the crop is responding and how conditions within the growing media are changing over time.

These measurements should be interpreted together and within the context of crop development. By using root-zone trends to refine irrigation timing, frequency and volume, growers can make more informed decisions rather than relying on a fixed schedule.

01

Water content and dry-back

Water content shows how much water is held within the growing media. Tracking changes in water content helps growers evaluate re-saturation, crop demand and dry-back between irrigation events and overnight.

02

Electrical conductivity

Electrical conductivity (EC) reflects the concentration of dissolved nutrients within the root zone. EC should be interpreted alongside water content, irrigation input and drain to understand how irrigation and crop uptake are affecting root-zone conditions.

03

Irrigation timing and drain

Irrigation volume, frequency and start and stop times influence re-saturation, inter-irrigation dry-back, overnight dry-back and nutrient-solution refreshment. Drain provides additional information about irrigation volume and root-zone refreshment, but it should not be evaluated on its own.

04

Root-zone temperature

Root-zone temperature should be monitored alongside water content and EC to provide a more complete view of conditions within the growing media.

Read the irrigation day

Root-zone conditions change throughout the irrigation day. Grodan’s day-dynamic model divides the irrigation cycle into three periods—P1, P2 and P3—to help growers interpret re-saturation, irrigation activity, drain and dry-back over time.

 

Grodan’s DAY-DYNAMIC MODEL

P1: First irrigation to first drain

P1 begins with the first irrigation event and continues until first drain. During this period, irrigation increases water content and begins refreshing the nutrient solution within the growing media.

P2: First drain to last irrigation

P2 begins at first drain and continues through the final irrigation event of the day. Inter-irrigation dry-back occurs between irrigation events during this period.

P3: Last irrigation to first irrigation

P3 begins after the final irrigation event and continues until the first irrigation of the following day. Overnight dry-back occurs during this period.

Put root-zone management in context

Root-zone targets and irrigation strategies change as the crop develops. The Grodan 5-Phase Model provides a phase-based framework for interpreting those changes throughout the crop cycle.

Grodan 5-Phase Model in Large Blocks Guide - Cover
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Grodan 5-Phase Model | One-Transplant System

A phase-based framework for cannabis cultivation, with practical guidance on plant development, root-zone management, irrigation, dry-backs and crop steering from propagation through final ripening.

Turn root-zone data into confident decisions

The Grodan 5-Phase Model is built into GroSens Suite, bringing phase-specific guidance together with the root-zone data growers already monitor.

Compare near real-time water content, EC, root-zone temperature, dry-backs, drain and irrigation activity with phase-specific guidance throughout the crop cycle to support more informed and consistent irrigation decisions.

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