ABSTRACT Successful irrigated agriculture is underpinned by answering two critical questions: when and how much to irrigate. This article quantifies the role of the Chameleon and the Wetting Front Detector, monitoring tools facilitating decision-making and learning about soil-water-nutrient dynamics. Farmers retained nutrients in the root zone by reducing irrigation frequency, number of siphons, and event duration. Water productivity increased by more than 100% for farmers both with and without monitoring tools. Transitioning smallholder irrigation systems into profitable and sustainable schemes requires investment in technology, farmers and institutions. Importantly, technologies need embedding in a learning environment that fosters critical feedback mechanisms, such as market constraints.

中文翻译：

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灌溉频率和土壤养分管理之间的动态变化：津巴布韦小农灌溉向利润更高和可持续的系统转变

摘要 成功的灌溉农业的基础是回答两个关键问题：灌溉时间和灌溉量。本文量化了变色龙和润湿前沿探测器的作用，这些监测工具有助于决策制定和了解土壤-水-养分动态。农民通过减少灌溉频率、虹吸次数和事件持续时间来保留根区的养分。无论有没有监测工具，农民的水生产率都提高了 100% 以上。将小农灌溉系统转变为有利可图的可持续计划需要对技术、农民和机构进行投资。重要的是，技术需要嵌入一个能够培养关键反馈机制（例如市场限制）的学习环境中。