We welcome Jonathan Juárez Pelcastre from the Colegio de Postgraduados (COLPOS), Montecillos Campus (Texcoco, Mexico). Jonathan will be part of our team for the next three months as part of a research stay within his doctoral studies.

“My professional training has focused on production systems in protected agriculture, with the firm purpose of promoting innovation and the technification of agriculture. I hold a degree in Agrotechnology, which provided me with knowledge on the management of cropping systems, and a master’s degree in Agroplasticulture oriented toward protected agriculture, where I focused on the development and prototyping of monitoring systems for high-value crops. Through this experience of incorporating technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and data analysis, I came to understand that the digital era (Agriculture 4.0) is an essential tool in the near future. Therefore, I decided to focus my studies on promoting the development of open-access technologies that facilitate decision-making and, consequently, the management of high-value crops under greenhouse conditions.

I am currently a PhD student in Science in the Hydrosciences graduate program at COLPOS, Montecillo Campus. During my studies, I have been able to expand my knowledge, particularly on the movement of water within the plant as a function of climatic conditions and the plant’s phenological stage.

My stay at the IAAA Laboratory of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Zaragoza has allowed me to deepen my knowledge of digital environments, which has been spectacular. My research project consists of determining the optimal timing and amount of irrigation for high-value greenhouse crops through the use of machine learning algorithms based on historical and current data. The objective is to create models that predict the appropriate timing and amount of irrigation required by the crop without compromising yield and fruit quality, thereby increasing water-use efficiency in intensive production systems and avoiding unnecessary irrigation.

This experience at the University of Zaragoza will be a fundamental part of my professional development in technological advancement and innovation in agriculture in my country, contributing to the growth of the digital era.”