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Soil Moisture Sensor For Precision Farming

Posted On : June 30, 2021

In precision irrigation to knowing the soil moisture in your land is very important for optimal irrigation scheduling. That’s why irrigation needed a thoughtful approach, as it should be neither excessive nor insufficient. Soil moisture sensors are useful in determining water levels, considerably facilitating farmers’ efforts and reducing costs.

Soil moisture sensors you can easily monitor analyze and control irrigation and fertigation through your mobile. These field sensors it gives accurate real-time field data about how much water is available and alerts you when you need to water your crops – saving water and resources while optimizing yields.

A soil sensor gives you to schedule irrigation events more efficiently by either increasing or decreasing their frequency and/or intensity, to not wash valuable nutrients, or, on the contrary, leave the plants thirsty. a foreign soil moisture sensor empowers agriculturalists to estimate the water levels without the necessity to be physically present within the field.

Soil Moisture Sensors In Precision Farming

A soil moisture sensor is a device that gives the current Soil moisture levels. Sensors integrated into the irrigation system and timely water supply and distribution more efficiently. Such devices help to reduce to enhance irrigation for optimum plant growth.

Soil sensors are classified by technology in three types:

  • ground – you can install in the ground to monitor the root zone;
  • aerial – And other method is retrieving data with UAVs and seldom used for soil moisture mapping;
  • satellite –monitoring the current situation from space. It not interfere in the field and helps to save costs and do without labor-consuming installations.

Soil moisture sensors convince be vital since crop cultivation may be a dynamic process requiring regular maintenance. The dynamics justify using sensors for various terrains, plant development stages, climate features, and to anticipate weather risks. By analyzing infrared (IR) emissions, satellite remote sensors ensure a continuing stream of relevant and reliable data. Combined with satellite imagery, this data allows farmers to remain updated on any changes within the soil moisture levels and react in a timely manner.

One interesting aspect of soil moisture sensors is that the incontrovertible fact that the more of them you deploy, the upper accuracy you'll get. Their number considerably impacts the inputs while satellites can cover vast areas, and specific software elaborates field maps with multiple heterogeneous zones.

soil moisture Sensor Installation And Calibration

To utilize a soil moisture sensor system, First, you need to install, calibrate, and adjust them constantly.

  • device locations;
  • distance from each other;
  • their number;
  • depth of installation;
  • the way the sensors are placed;
  • time of recalibration;
  • data reading and interpretation.

Employees have to fix sensors that are out of service and validate the accuracy of data, and to elaborate irrigation patterns.

Among all satellites, the software is that really saves you from trouble. Monitoring apps are user-friendly and available on many devices, like a PC, a laptop, or a tablet. you can know what is happening on your farm anywhere anytime, provided you have internet access. farmers can detect the issue remotely and react in a timely manner.

How does Soil Moisture Sensor work?

The working of the soil moisture sensor is straightforward.

The fork-shaped probe with two exposed conductors, acts as a variable resistor whose resistance varies according to the water content in the soil.

And this resistance is the inversely proportional to the soil moisture:

  • More water in the soil means good conductivity and result in a lower resistance.
  • Less water in the soil means poor conductivity and result in a higher resistance.

The sensor gives an output voltage to the resistance, by measuring we can identify the moisture level.

Other Benefits Include:

  • Cost-effectiveness and reliability
  • Rugged design and weather-proof
  • Easy installation. Easy integration
  • Adaptable to all soil and soilless types
  • Unaffected by salinity with no need for site calibration
  • Monitoring with access to real-time data by digital farming solution

Why Is Soil Moisture Monitoring Important?

Sufficient water saturation is significant for plant development, and it's the farmers’ foremost task to take care of it. Lack of irrigation results in fading since plants put all efforts into absorbing scarce water with their roots, having no energy left to ripen and yield good crops. And its helps the plants to survive regular stress events, staying healthy, and achieving full development. Excessive watering, on the opposite hand, causes root rotting and cuts off the oxygen supply, eventually destroying the plant.

As it is often seen, without keeping moisture levels stable things can turn unfavorable both ways. this is often why soil moisture sensors for agriculture are indispensable farming tools, while online ag applications with soil moisture features are efficient, reliable, and comparatively cheap.

Satellite remote sensors are an ideal bargain when it involves comparing the quantity of input or effort required to use them and therefore the amount and the quality of knowledge they're capable of providing. Their integration in daily farming routine helps to enhance plant growth by empowering farmers to more effectively manage water excess and deficiency risks.

Advantages of soil Moisture sensor

  • A simple method of measurement.
  • It delivers the results immediately.
  • sensors and tensiometers are low in cost.
  • Offers accurate results.
  • sensors give a huge number of moisture readings range from 0 to 200 cb

Disadvantages of soil Moisture sensor

  • It needs an initial evaluation of site-specific conditions before the selection of an appropriate moisture sensor.
  • It requires a probe to be inserted within the soil. It requires labor to gather the info and maintain the measurement processes.
  • The measured values depend upon properties of varied materials. the right interpretation and use of moisture data are required .
  • sensors give less accuracy in sandy soils
  • sensors are needed to be calibrated for every soil type. Tensiometers are also needed periodic service.

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