## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Agronomic Trials  
We conducted field experiments in Southern Italy (41\({}^{\circ}\)24\({}^{\prime}\)27\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N; 15\({}^{\circ}\)45\({}^{\prime}\)34\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E, 30 m above sea level) during the 2015 and 2016 crop seasons. We cultivated the Ulisse processing tomato cv. from Syngenta Seeds SpA with elongated fruits using three irrigation scheduling methods described in Section 2.2. We arranged the experiments in a strip-plot design with four replicates, and each experimental unit covered a surface area of 2500 m\({}^{2}\). We transplanted the tomato seedlings on 10 May 2015 and 26 May 2016, in paired rows spaced at 1.8 m apart. The distance between the paired rows and the plants within the rows was 0.5 m and 0.4 m, respectively. The plant density was 2.7 plants per square meter. Before transplanting, we took soil samples (0-0.4 m depth) to assess their physical characteristics, as outlined in Table 1. We followed standard agricultural practices during both crop seasons, including basic fertilization using 72 kg ha\({}^{-1}\) N and 128 kg ha\({}^{-1}\) P, and adding 82 kg ha\({}^{-1}\) N by fertigation during the crop cycle. We also performed pest and weed control using current management practices. In relation to irrigation, three independent irrigation sectors were set up at the beginning of the two crop cycles. Each sector was equipped with a drip irrigation system, as a single plastic pipe arranged in the middle of each paired row, with drippers of 2 L h\({}^{-1}\) flow rate spaced every 0.2 m. Volumetric flow meters were used to monitor the volumes distributed for each irrigation scheduling method. The seasonal irrigation volumes and the number of irrigations referred to the three irrigation scheduling methods modes in the two growing seasons are reported in Table 2. The crop was hand harvested when the ripe fruit rate reached about 95% (1 September 2015; 14 September 2016) on a test area of 30 m\({}^{2}\) in each replicate. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Parameter** & **2015** & **2016** \\ \hline Sand (\% dry weight) & 21.5 & 25.5 \\ Silt (\% dry weight) & 47.0 & 45.5 \\ Clay (\% dry weight) & 31.5 & 29.4 \\ Apparent Bulk Density (kg/dm\({}^{3}\)) & 1.2 & 1.2 \\ Field Water Capacity (\% dry weight) & 33.2 & 34.6 \\ Wilting Point (\% dry weight) & 18.8 & 19.0 \\ Available Water (\% dry weight) & 14.4 & 15.7- \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Main physical parameters of the soil detected in the two growing seasons. Throughout the experimental period, a nearby weather station recorded the daily measurements of rainfall (mm) and maximum and minimum air temperature (\({}^{\circ}\)C) in proximity to the experimental fields (Figure 1). The two growing seasons exhibited distinct rainfall patterns, with only 118 mm of rainfall in 2015 compared to 197 mm in 2016. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline  & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Irrigation Scheduling Methods \({}^{*}\)**} \\ \cline{2-7}  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**FarMan**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**IriMan**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**PlaSoMan**} \\  & **2015** & **2016** & **2015** & **2016** & **2015** & **2016** \\ \hline \hline Irrigation volumes (m\({}^{3}\)/ha) & 6200 & 6075 & 5070 & 4174 & 4570 & 4000 \\ Rainfall (mm) & 118 & 197 & 118 & 197 & 118 & 197 \\ Total volumes (m\({}^{3}\)/ha) & 7380 & 8045 & 6250 & 6144 & 5740 & 5970 \\ Irrigation events (n) & 36 & 34 & 31 & 28 & 26 & 23 \\ Average irrigation interval (d) & 3.1 & 3.3 & 3.6 & 4 & 4.3 & 4.8 \\ Average irrigation volume (m\({}^{3}\)/ha) & 172.2 & 178.7 & 163.5 & 149.2 & 175.7 & 173.9 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* FarMan: irrigation scheduling managed by the farmer. IriMan: irrigation scheduling based on “Irrframe” model. PlaSoMan: irrigation scheduling based on the smart system that monitors both plant water content and soil moisture.  
\end{table}