Quick Start Guide
This manual is meant to quickly get you started with Blueberry Manager® Software.
The manual guides you step by step through the installation procedure.
If you want to change settings or test new modules, you can navigate directly to the section for the relevant module via the menu on the right.
This is a practical and concise manual.
Refer to the documentation menu on the left for more background information, new features and troubleshooting tips.
Register
The first step it to register yourself on the platform. These setup steps are easiest on a PC or Laptop. For user friendliness the mobile phone interface does not have access to all the settings.
Go to the blueberry manager® BlueberryManager® register website.
The e-mail address has to be a valid e-mail address.
Warning
The email address is also used for password recovery and important notifications.
The email address will not be used for unwanted spam and will not be shared with others.
The username is the name used for communication with other staff and your adviser.
The username may consist of multiple words.
The password has to be a unique and hard to guess.
Blueberry Manager® cannot see or recover your password.
If your password gets lost you will have to request a new one.
Tip
Use a password manager like keepass or proton pass to generate and store passwords.
The Captcha code has to be copied from the picture.
The code avoids spam and protects our system.
You will now be redirected to the login page. Login with your username and password and you should be redirected to the settings page.
Settings
Tip
Hover the mouse over an input field for tips and hints
General Settings
User Settings
Complete all the input fields. This data can be changed any time
Warning
The first user is the administrator and has full access to all modules.
The administrator is the only one who can create and remove other users.
Farm Data
The unit for the farm size is selected in the Unit section
The field lat and field lon are used for weather data and for irrigation calculations.
The latitude and longitude have to be provided in the decimal format.
You can use latlong.net to find the coordinates for your field.
Warning
Make sure to use the decimal format shown in the green box or above the location needle.
Other formats will lead to failures and wrong calculations.
Tip
Use the map to find the exact location of your field.
The more precise the location is, the more reliable the weather data will be.
Select the soil type that best matches your business.
If you grow in containers, select the soil type that is in the container.
The soil type determines the buffer capacity for water and is an important part of the calculations.
The consultant id is used to share farm data with your consultant.
The connection can be terminated by clearing the consultant ID field.
The farm type has effect on fertilizer and pesticide settings.
The field elevation is used for irrigation calculations.
It has to be provided in meters.
You can use mapdevelopers.com/ to find the elevation for your field.
Select yes if you live closer then 20 Kilometers or 12.5 Miles from a large body of water.
Large bodies of water can be lakes and oceans which influence the irrigation calculations.
Units
Chose the units you would like to use.
Warning
Units can be changed afterwards but may potentially disrupt the fertilizer and pesticide administration.
Especially custom made entries might be affected.
Valves
Crop Data
Warning
Any changes in this data immediately affects irrigation calculations and fertilizer and pesticide data.
To avoid problems make sure that all settings are correct before continuing using the program.
Tip
After saving the first section or irrigation valve, additional valves can be added.
A new menu with valve numbers will appear.
An unlimited amount of valves can be added but these valves should represent real valves.
Tip
The valve numbers will be used as relais numbers on the relais board(s).
If you decide to automate your irrigations, the number of valves determines how many relays need to be purchased.
Choose from a list of common varieties.
If your variety is not listed, choose "others" with a ripening period most closely matching your variety.
The ripening period affects the irrigation calculations.
The planting year is especially important for young plants (less then 4 years old).
The irrigation calculation is adjusted to the age of the plants.
The area of the irrigation section.
The area and irrigation system determine the water supply and influence the monitoring for leaks or blockages.
The distance between the rows.
The distance infuences shade and evaporations and has influence on the irrigation calculations.
The distance between the plants in the row.
The distance infuences shade and evaporations and has influence on the irrigation calculations.
Irrigation Data
Blueberry Manager® supports both sprinkler and drip irrigation systems.
The unit for the irrigation output is set in the settings.
If the field has drainage or if pots are placed on top of the soil choose yes.
Drainage affects the water buffer capacity of the soil and reduces the time after overwatering due to rainfall untill the next irrigation.
Section Name
The name provided will be used in all overviews and reports. This name can savely be changed anytime.
Notes
This is the first time that you can start taking notes.
Notes can be changed any time.
Notes are added to the valve with a yellow sticky note icon.
The content is displayed in a pop-up when clicked.
Notes appear in every overview where the valve is mentioned.
Tip
Notes make it easier to keep track of details or record data that the program does not support.
Example
A trial with a different fertilizer is being conducted on the field you are creating.
You can indicate in the valve note where the trial is being conducted.
This prevents you from having to add a note to each fertilization mentioning the research and the location data.
Because the note symbol appears every time the field is mentioned, your employees are constantly reminded of the location of the test field.
Users
Personel and Relations
In this section, you can add and manage all personel and relations that have access to Blueberry Manager®.
The fields on the left part of the screen are used to add new users and the right side of the screen lists all the users that where previously added.
A relation or (temporary) worker who is already using Blueberry Manager® can be added by the relation's ID number.
Otherwise, it is possible to add a new relationship by filling in the fields for personal details.
Internal: the relation is an employee or temporary worker and is granted user rights by means of a role.
External: the relation is an adviser who gets full access to all farm data.
There are 3 types of user roles:
1. Administration
The administration role has almost the same user rights as the farmer.
The administration has access to:
- all settings excluding user settings
- all the overviews
- fertilizer and pesticide stock data including adding and (de)activating entries
- access to all cultivation data and cultivation records
2. Field Worker
The field worker has access to:
- all the overviews
- fertilizer and pesticide usage can be added but the field worker cannot add or modify any stock entries
- access to all cultivation data and cultivation records
3. Farm Help
The farm help can only add measurement data such as moisture measurements and harvest quantities.
User Roles & Permissions Overview
| Permission / Access Area | Administration | Field Worker | Farm Help |
|---|---|---|---|
| System & Settings | |||
| All Settings (excl. User Settings) | Full Access | ❌ No Access | ❌ No Access |
| Data Overviews | |||
| All Overviews | View Access | View Access | ❌ No Access |
| Cultivation Management | |||
| Cultivation Data & Records | Full Access | View Access | ❌ No Access |
| Stock Management | |||
| Add/Modify/Activate/Deactivate Stock | Full Access | ❌ No Access | ❌ No Access |
| View Fertilizer/Pesticide Stock | View | View | ❌ No Access |
| Operational Tasks | |||
| Add Fertilizer/Pesticide Usage | Full Access | Full Access | ❌ No Access |
| Add Measurements (Moisture, Harvest, etc.) | Full Access | Full Access | Full Access |
Adding a new user without activation will block the user from accessing your Blueberry Manager® account. All added users will be displayed on the overview on the right. Users can be blocked or allowed access to your Blueberry Manager® account by ticking or unticking the Active tick-box.
Notes
Notes can be changed any time.
Notes are added to the username with a yellow sticky note icon.
Userdata and their associated notes are only visible to the primary user.
The content is displayed in a pop-up when clicked.
Tip
Notes make it easier to keep track of details or record data that the program does not support.
Example
A temporary worker has been working at your farm for several years.
This year you are going to allow the worker to spread fertilizer and assist in other farm duties.
A note will remind you next season of the extra duties and user rights you gave this temporary worker.
You can also add the reasons for allowing these extra access rights.
Overview
For standardization purposes, overviews are always displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.
In this case, all relationships and staff members that have already been added are listed on the right-hand side.
If you uncheck the box under active (light gray), the relevant (employment)-relationship will no longer have access to your data and all user rights will be revoked.
To activate the user rights, check the relevant (employment)-relationship again (green).
To edit the details of a relationship, press the edit data button.
The details of the relevant (employment)-relationship will appear in input fields in the left-hand column.
The details can now be changed and saved.
Overview
Irrigation
In order to obtain a reliable soil moisture calculation, the program occasionally requires a manual soil moisture measurement.
The frequency of these measurements can be changed under measurement settings.
Info
Blueberry Manager® prefers to calculate soil moisture content.
Soil moisture content in the top layer of soil is particularly difficult to measure because it varies greatly throughout the day.
Especially in the root zone, the capillary action of the soil is unable to rapidly compensate for the increasing (leaf) evaporation caused by sunlight.
As a result, the measurements may deviate significantly from the calculated moisture content.
Info
To wet means the daily average moisure was over 99%.
This is caused by excessive or unpredicted rainfall.
The excess moisture was stored in the pore spaces of the soil.
Blueberry Manager® reduces the effect of excess moisture in overviews and calculations when the soil is drained.
An option for field drainage is added to the valves section found under settings.
When the drainage option is selected, the software considers excessive moisture being drained immediately, continuing calculations with a soil moisture of 100%.
When the drainage option is not selected, up to 30% of soil moisture is added, continuing calculations with a soil moisture of up to 130%.
Warning
Excessive soil moisture makes the root system more vulnerable to root deseases such as phytophtora.
Left Column
Blueberry Manager® assesses all calculated and measured soil moisture levels for the current growth phase and also evaluates the efficiency of the irrigation carried out.
The result of all these assessments is conveniently displayed in the form of an overall rating.
The ratings can be excellent, good, average, poor and bad.
For verification purposes, Blueberry Manager® also indicates the growth stage on which the current irrigation calculations are based.
A pie chart shows the status of all calculated and measured soil moisture levels of this years growth season.
Average daily soil moisture levels under 20% are considered dry, levels above 99% are considered wet.
Info
The soil's moisture level(%) calculations are based on the soil type you entered in the farm data settings.
It is based on the Available Water Holding Capacity (AWC) which is influenced by the holding capacity of your soil and the underpressure in the blueberry's root system enabling the plant to take up water and nutrients.
The status of your irrigation system is rated Excellent, Good, Poor or Bad. The rating is based on differences in soil moisture measurements in one row. A pop up banner and an alert will provides warnings which irrigation valve is causing bad ratings.
Info
Blueberry Manager® monitors the status of the irrigation system by analyzing multiple soil moisture measurements in a row.
An increase in differences might indicates pressure differences in the pipes, caused by blockages or leaks.
Pressure differences can also be caused by a poor irrigation design.
Pressure differences due to blockages or leaks can become apparent spontaneously or gradually.
Poor irrigation design results in permanent soil moisture differences.
Right Column
Blueberry Manager® lists the status of all irrigation in the right column.
You can use our irrigation relays board to perform irrigations automatically.
In this case all valves belonging to an relays board will be grouped together.
In this example, the board shows to which WLAN network it is connected to and how strong the signal is.
The WLAN network name will change to Irrigating when the board is currently irrigating.
In case of connection issues, the WLAN network name will change to Offline.
Info
A temporal loss of connection will automatically be restored.
The WLAN router should be placed closer if the connection is frequently lost.
Any received irrigation will continu if the connection is lost and the irrigation board will wait for the connection to be reestablished before it proceeds with the next irrigation.
Tip
There are relatively cheap 4G routers on the market.
These can provide a reliable internet connection where fixed internet is not available.
A minimum dataplan and a low speed are sufficient.
The irrigation board only needs a few kB per day to communicate.
The Soil Moisture shown is the calculated soil moisture at the moment the last irrigation calculation was made.
Irrigation calculations are made once per day.
The value represents a buffer value of the soil but does not represent a measureable value at certain depth.
Water concentrations change constantly due to absorption by plants, capillary action in the soil, daily weather changes, solar radiation, and precipitation.
This is why Blueberry Manager® does not work with moisture sensors.
Tip
Although Blueberry Manager® does not rely on soil moisture sensors, we encourage to do regular soil moisture measurements.
These measurements are used to monitor the system for leaks or blockages and are used to check irrigation calculations.
Refer to the irrigation settings for more information.
If a soil moisture measurement is due, the program automatically redirects to the manual soil measurement page.
The progress bar is a visual representation of the current soil moisture.
This value represents a buffer value of the soil which depends of the soil type.
Soil types that have less holding capacity or soil types that are sensitive to draught have a smaller holding capacity and will therefore be irrigated more frequently.
A 100% progress bar represents a full buffer.
Values over 100% represents water that is stored in air pockets in the soil and this excess water can result in root rot.
A 0% progress bar represents an empty buffer.
Although the soil still holds water, the underpressure needed to absorb this water is greater then a blueberry plant can handle.
Since blueberries naturally grow in moist soils, their roots water absorbtion capacity is limited.
Info
Due to the limited water absorbtion capacity of the root system, Blueberry Manager® keeps a 20% margin above the maximum water absorbtion capacity.
This forces the plant to develop a strong root system that improves the plants water absorbtion capacity without stressing the plant with draught.
A prolonged draught of multiple days is often asymptomatic in the current growing season but can lead to a significant reduction in yield in the following growing season.
Info
Researchers have discovered that multiple small doses of nitrogen during leaf development also greatly promote the development of root hairs.
Info
Especially peat soils are known for their draught sensitivity.
Due to the oily surface of the structure, draught should be avoided by all means.
Rehydration of this soil type is hard to achieve and draught will cause more root damage then other soils.
Blueberry Manager® uses a smaller buffer capacity and irrigates peat soils more regularly to avoid drought.
Blueberry Manager® shows when the last irrigation was performed.
Precipitation is taken into account and reduces the need for irrigation.
Fertilizer
Diseases
This is a link for future use.
Blueberry Manager® aims to work together with research and advisers to monitor and advise for diseases.
Data
The data menu is used to enter cultivation data.
Access rights for entering and viewing cultivation data can be changed under the user settings.
Irrigation
Manual conducted irrigations can be entered here.
The date field shows today's date and can be changed by clicking on the calendar button.
The irrigation amount is mandatory. The irrigation unit is set under units in the settings page.
The note field can be used to store data regarding the performed irrigation.
When a note is added, a yellow sticky note icon will be displayed besides the valve number or the performed irrigation.
The content of the note is displayed in a pop-up when clicked.
The right column shows all performed irrigations of this month.
Irrigations can be removed by clicking the red remove button.
Automatic irrigations will also be listed.
A note with the text auto performed is added to identify automatic irrigations.
Fertilizer
Data
Fertilizer applications can be entered here.
Access rights for entering and viewing fertilizer data can be changed under the user settings.
The list with fertilizer names is generated from active fertilizers under the settings page (button on the right).
New fertilizers can also be added under Data.
Tip
The program allows for the use of chemical and organic fertilizers.
To add an (organic) fertilizer, refer to the settings page for more details.
Date applied shows today's date, the date can be changed by clicking on the calendar button.
Amount applied is the total amount applied on the total area of the selected valve.
The unit for the application has been set in the settings page (button on the right).
Info
Over fertilizing will cause an alert to be trickered.
Please refer to alerts for more information.
The note field can be used to store data regarding the performed application.
When a note is added, a yellow sticky note icon will be displayed besides the fertilizer name or the performed application on the right.
The content of the note is displayed in a pop-up when clicked.
The calculate dose can be used to calculate the total application for the selected valve.
The calculation is based on the plot size, specified for the selected valve, and and application rate, specified under the settings page (button on the right).
Warning
The calculate dose option should be handled with care.
Mistakes in the entry of the plot size, application rate or mistakes in mixing units can lead to wrong calculations.
Always crosscheck the manufacturer's application amount as described on the packaging.
The right column shows all fertilizer applications of this year.
Applications can be removed by clicking the red remove button.
Inventory
Any changes in the inventory can be made here.
Access rights for entering and viewing inventory data can be changed under the user settings.
The list with fertilizer names is generated from active fertilizers under the settings page (button on the right).
New fertilizers can also be added under Data.
The current amount of fertilizers, as shown in the right column, is based on the total added to the inventory minus the total applications.
Purchased quantity
To change the inventory amount for the selected fertilizer you can either add fertilizer to the stock or update the total amount of the selected fertilizer.
The unit for the application has been set in the settings page (button on the right).
Update Inventory
Updating the inventory will disregard the total of all previously purchased quantities and applications and will reset the total amount to the entered value.
The unit for the application has been set in the settings page (button on the right).
The right column shows the total of each active fertilizer.
To remove a fertilizer from the list, deactivate it in the settings page (button on the right).
Any notes added to the fertilizer under the settings page (button on the right) will be displayed with a yellow sticky note icon besides the fertilizer name.
Tip
Notes can be used to store aditional data the software does not support.
Data such as the supplier or price can be added here.
Notes for the respective fertilizer can be changed or deleted in the settings page (button on the right).