Get frequent readings
The Watermetrics Soil Moisture Probe provides 5 readings at 100mm intervals. Data from a paddock is displayed as 5 individual lines on a graph. This information is a good way to see how far a water application or rainfall has penetrated down into the soil. This is a great way of checking if any overwatering has occurred and if water has remained in the target zones.
An advanced step is to set irrigation targets, trigger points and irrigation KPI’s enhance irrigation performance. To achieve this we use our Soil Moisture Analytics package.
Soil Moisture Analytics (SMA)
Effectively we select the soil moisture readings in the target zone which effectively is the zone where the plants roots dominate. We then average the readings in those zones or come up with a weighted average that best delivers moisture readings in the root zone of the plant.
In a SMA graph this displays as a single line. Around that we display in colour the moisture levels that are too wet or too dry and a sensible operating zone with an ideal target and trigger points for effective management.
Below this line we add the moisture inputs. Rainfall is easily gathered from our Davis weather stations. Actual irrigation inputs are displayed from meter information. These are displayed as mm per ha per day.
Work towards the future
Farmers can easily see what has influenced changes in the soil moisture and use the information to better calculate future irrigations.
Our Agronomist can work with you to help explain how the moisture and dashboard works with your soils. The goal is to provide useful and relevant information to aid in good irrigation management, saving water and improving yields. The data and its presentation is perfect for audit reporting.
