8 Aug, 2018
Many irrigators are late with the first Spring irrigation. This delay has the potential to result in disappointing yields and a reduction in water use efficiency. The key is to monitor soil closely and irrigate on time.
There are two main sensors used when measuring soil moisture, capacitance and matric potential. Capacitance sensors read volumetric soil moisture and are useful to monitor the soil moisture profile. Matric potential sensors read slightly differently, they show the suction required by plants to extract water from the soil. If using matric potential 0 – 6 kPa is the reading when the paddock is at field capacity, then as the crop draws moisture out, the soil moisture tension will increase. As a general rule ir