IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v97y2010i5p666-672.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Precision of soil moisture sensor irrigation controllers under field conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Cardenas-Lailhacar, B.
  • Dukes, M.D.

Abstract

New soil moisture sensor systems (SMSs) for irrigation control have been commercialized in recent years. However, limited research has been carried out to evaluate their precision to measure the volumetric soil water content ([theta]). The objectives of this research were to: (a) determine the relationship between [theta] and the [theta] sensed by four commercially available SMSs, (b) quantify the proportion of scheduled irrigation cycles (SICs) that the SMSs bypassed, and (c) determine the [theta] at which SICs were allowed or bypassed. Sensors from brands Acclima, Rain Bird, Irrometer, and Water Watcher were buried at 7-10cm depth, on plots with common bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.]. A calibrated ECH2O probe was also installed in every plot, at the same depth, to monitor [theta] continuously. When comparing the ECH2O readings with [theta] sensed by the SMSs, significant correlations were found for the three Acclima RS500 (AC) systems tested, and for two of the three systems of Irrometer Watermark 200SS/WEM (IM) and Rain Bird MS-100 (RB). Most of the SMS-based treatments bypassed the majority of the SICs during rainy periods, and allowed irrigation during the dry periods. On average, 71% of the SICs were bypassed by the SMS treatments, without detriment to the turfgrass quality. However, most of the SMSs were not found to be precision instruments, because sometimes they bypassed SICs and sometimes they did not, even when reading the same or a lower [theta]. Considering the average [theta] range of over which the different SMS treatments always allowed or always bypassed irrigation, brand AC resulted in the significantly narrowest range (1.4%) followed by RB (3.2%), suggesting that they were more consistent and precise in measuring [theta] than Water Watcher DPS-100 (WW) and IM (7.4 and 7.8%, respectively). These results are consistent with the reported water savings achieved by these SMSs in related studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cardenas-Lailhacar, B. & Dukes, M.D., 2010. "Precision of soil moisture sensor irrigation controllers under field conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(5), pages 666-672, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:5:p:666-672
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-3774(09)00363-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zotarelli, L. & Dukes, M.D. & Scholberg, J.M.S. & Muñoz-Carpena, R. & Icerman, J., 2009. "Tomato nitrogen accumulation and fertilizer use efficiency on a sandy soil, as affected by nitrogen rate and irrigation scheduling," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(8), pages 1247-1258, August.
    2. Zotarelli, Lincoln & Scholberg, Johannes M. & Dukes, Michael D. & Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael & Icerman, Jason, 2009. "Tomato yield, biomass accumulation, root distribution and irrigation water use efficiency on a sandy soil, as affected by nitrogen rate and irrigation scheduling," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 23-34, January.
    3. McCready, M.S. & Dukes, M.D. & Miller, G.L., 2009. "Water conservation potential of smart irrigation controllers on St. Augustinegrass," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1623-1632, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zinkernagel, Jana & Maestre-Valero, Jose. F. & Seresti, Sogol Y. & Intrigliolo, Diego S., 2020. "New technologies and practical approaches to improve irrigation management of open field vegetable crops," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    2. Filgueiras, Roberto & Almeida, Thomé Simpliciano & Mantovani, Everardo Chartuni & Dias, Santos Henrique Brant & Fernandes-Filho, Elpídio Inácio & da Cunha, Fernando França & Venancio, Luan Peroni, 2020. "Soil water content and actual evapotranspiration predictions using regression algorithms and remote sensing data," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. Bonfante, A. & Monaco, E. & Manna, P. & De Mascellis, R. & Basile, A. & Buonanno, M. & Cantilena, G. & Esposito, A. & Tedeschi, A. & De Michele, C. & Belfiore, O. & Catapano, I. & Ludeno, G. & Salinas, 2019. "LCIS DSS—An irrigation supporting system for water use efficiency improvement in precision agriculture: A maize case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Younsuk Dong & Steve Miller & Lyndon Kelley, 2020. "Performance Evaluation of Soil Moisture Sensors in Coarse- and Fine-Textured Michigan Agricultural Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Monika Marković & Maja Matoša Kočar & Željko Barač & Alka Turalija & Atılgan Atılgan & Danijel Jug & Marija Ravlić, 2024. "Field Performance Evaluation of Low-Cost Soil Moisture Sensors in Irrigated Orchard," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Ali Ajaz & Sumon Datta & Scott Stoodley, 2020. "High Plains Aquifer–State of Affairs of Irrigated Agriculture and Role of Irrigation in the Sustainability Paradigm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Losciale, Pasquale & Gaeta, Liliana & Corsi, Mariadomenica & Galeone, Ciro & Tarricone, Luigi & Leogrande, Rita & Stellacci, Anna Maria, 2023. "Physiological responses of apricot and peach cultivars under progressive water shortage: Different crop signals for anisohydric and isohydric behaviours," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bonfante, A. & Monaco, E. & Manna, P. & De Mascellis, R. & Basile, A. & Buonanno, M. & Cantilena, G. & Esposito, A. & Tedeschi, A. & De Michele, C. & Belfiore, O. & Catapano, I. & Ludeno, G. & Salinas, 2019. "LCIS DSS—An irrigation supporting system for water use efficiency improvement in precision agriculture: A maize case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Katsoulas, N. & Sapounas, A. & De Zwart, F. & Dieleman, J.A. & Stanghellini, C., 2015. "Reducing ventilation requirements in semi-closed greenhouses increases water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 90-99.
    3. Dai, Zhiguang & Fei, Liangjun & Huang, Deliang & Zeng, Jian & Chen, Lin & Cai, Yaohui, 2019. "Coupling effects of irrigation and nitrogen levels on yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency of surge-root irrigated jujube in a semiarid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 146-154.
    4. Fullana-Pericàs, Mateu & Conesa, Miquel À. & Douthe, Cyril & El Aou-ouad, Hanan & Ribas-Carbó, Miquel & Galmés, Jeroni, 2019. "Tomato landraces as a source to minimize yield losses and improve fruit quality under water deficit conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Migliaccio, Kati W. & Schaffer, Bruce & Crane, Jonathan H. & Davies, Frederick S., 2010. "Plant response to evapotranspiration and soil water sensor irrigation scheduling methods for papaya production in south Florida," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(10), pages 1452-1460, October.
    6. Qin, Shujing & Li, Sien & Kang, Shaozhong & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Ding, Risheng & Wang, Yahui & Guo, Hui, 2019. "Transpiration of female and male parents of seed maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 397-409.
    7. Müller, T. & Ranquet Bouleau, C. & Perona, P., 2016. "Optimizing drip irrigation for eggplant crops in semi-arid zones using evolving thresholds," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 54-65.
    8. Li, Shengping & Tan, Deshui & Wu, Xueping & Degré, Aurore & Long, Huaiyu & Zhang, Shuxiang & Lu, Jinjing & Gao, Lili & Zheng, Fengjun & Liu, Xiaotong & Liang, Guopeng, 2021. "Negative pressure irrigation increases vegetable water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency by improving soil water and NO3–-N distributions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    9. Guida, Gianpiero & Sellami, Mohamed Houssemeddine & Mistretta, Carmela & Oliva, Marco & Buonomo, Roberta & De Mascellis, Roberto & Patanè, Cristina & Rouphael, Youssef & Albrizio, Rossella & Giorio, P, 2017. "Agronomical, physiological and fruit quality responses of two Italian long-storage tomato landraces under rain-fed and full irrigation conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 126-135.
    10. Sakai, Emilio & Barbosa, Eduardo Augusto Agnellos & Silveira, Jane Maria de Carvalho & Pires, Regina Célia de Matos, 2015. "Coffee productivity and root systems in cultivation schemes with different population arrangements and with and without drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 16-23.
    11. Sharma, Sat Pal & Leskovar, Daniel I. & Crosby, Kevin M. & Volder, Astrid & Ibrahim, A.M.H., 2014. "Root growth, yield, and fruit quality responses of reticulatus and inodorus melons (Cucumis melo L.) to deficit subsurface drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 75-85.
    12. Sun, Lei & Li, Bo & Yao, Mingze & Niu, Dongshuang & Gao, Manman & Mao, Lizhen & Xu, Zhanyang & Wang, Tieliang & Wang, Jingkuan, 2023. "Optimising water and nitrogen management for greenhouse tomatoes in Northeast China using EWM−TOPSIS−AISM model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    13. Liu, Jing & Bi, Xiaoqing & Ma, Maoting & Jiang, Lihua & Du, Lianfeng & Li, Shunjiang & Sun, Qinping & Zou, Guoyuan & Liu, Hongbin, 2019. "Precipitation and irrigation dominate soil water leaching in cropland in Northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 165-171.
    14. Wang, Lichun & Ning, Songrui & Chen, Xiaoli & Li, Youli & Guo, Wenzhong & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2021. "Modeling tomato root water uptake influenced by soil salinity under drip irrigation with an inverse method," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    15. Liao, Renkuan & Zhang, Shirui & Zhang, Xin & Wang, Mingfei & Wu, Huarui & Zhangzhong, Lili, 2021. "Development of smart irrigation systems based on real-time soil moisture data in a greenhouse: Proof of concept," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    16. Ming Zhang & Tao Lei & Xianghong Guo & Jianxin Liu & Xiaoli Gao & Zhen Lei & Xiaolan Ju, 2023. "The Effect of Water–Zeolite Amount–Burial Depth on Greenhouse Tomatoes with Drip Irrigation under Mulch," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    17. Wang, Chenxia & Gu, Feng & Chen, Jinliang & Yang, Hui & Jiang, Jingjing & Du, Taisheng & Zhang, Jianhua, 2015. "Assessing the response of yield and comprehensive fruit quality of tomato grown in greenhouse to deficit irrigation and nitrogen application strategies," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 9-19.
    18. Kuşçu, Hayrettin & Turhan, Ahmet & Demir, Ali Osman, 2014. "The response of processing tomato to deficit irrigation at various phenological stages in a sub-humid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 92-103.
    19. Mohammad Nabil Elnesr & Abdurrahman Ali Alazba & Assem Ibrahim Zein El-Abedein & Mahmoud Maher El-Adl, 2015. "Evaluating the Effect of Three Water Management Techniques on Tomato Crop," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Santos, Leonardo N.S. dos & Matsura, Edson E. & Gonçalves, Ivo Z. & Barbosa, Eduardo A.A. & Nazário, Aline A. & Tuta, Natalia F. & Elaiuy, Marcelo C.L. & Feitosa, Daniel R.C. & de Sousa, Allan C.M., 2016. "Water storage in the soil profile under subsurface drip irrigation: Evaluating two installation depths of emitters and two water qualities," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 91-98.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:5:p:666-672. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.