Ag controllers & mobile technologies Back to Basics By Eric Elle I
rrigation in today’s agricultural realm takes much more management than the generations before us. The need to conserve and manage our resources has become a necessity as producers
are pushed to grow more with less. The “internet of things” has allowed remote monitoring and control of irrigation systems to bring a new perspective to irrigation management. Today’s market offers many different options, and it can be difficult to choose or decide what controller to use.
Producers looking to integrate more sophisticated irrigation control technologies into their operations commonly ask these questions:
• How reliable is the system? • Will the system integrate with existing infrastructure? • What data is essential for the operation of the system? • What data helps make irrigation management decisions?
• How do I view my data and get alerts?
One of the challenges is that every operation is unique, and irrigation strategies are determined by many factors. The crop being produced, the infrastructure of water delivery systems, soil types, climate, water quality, and sometimes lack of water resources are all considerations to help determine what automation, if any, is the right fit. Today, there are endless sensors on the market to tell us everything related to soil moisture,
plant stress, water quality and many other variables that may affect irrigation decisions. Controllers today need to be flexible to add more sensors into their systems as their operations require. It is also important to have one irrigation controller that can work together with other sensors and telemetry available on the market.
The basics
In order to determine what is right for your operation, you must start with the basics. Most importantly, controllers must be robust to meet the demands of agricultural environmental conditions. Essential information about the system information such as pressures, flows, solenoid faults, communication errors and wireless capability are all basic features to look for when considering new controls. The user must determine what is important to monitor when selecting the appropriate automation solution. Controllers can operate valves, pumps or gates; integrate filter automation; and control fertigation pumps. Those are just a few options producers should consider.
Programming irrigation schedules must be easily modified on a controller, and it must calculate estimated application rates based on a system design. Most controllers today are time-based, requiring extra steps to determine application rates. Having a controller where a user can input system design parameters and automatically convert run times based on application rates saves time and allows for quick schedule changes. This important feature
Permanently installed time domain reflectometry-type soil moisture sensors providing volumetric water content, bulk electrical conductivity and soil temperature
can allow irrigation times to be adjusted automatically or manually to help achieve a soil-water balance. In order to know when and how much water was applied through each irrigation cycle, the controller should be capable of logging this data to understand how the irrigation strategies affect soil and crop. Wireless controllers with remote terminal units utilizing spread spectrum radio communications are providing the ability to add sensors and control to new and existing systems without the need for wire pipelines.
Utilizing soil-water balance method
All of the challenges related to conserving and managing our resources can be managed with automation, but one thing that is common in all situations is the importance of maintaining the water balance of the soil or media in which the crop is grown. This simple strategy allows producers the ability to understand and manage their water resources. Controllers should be able to log and archive this data and potentially have the ability to make those decisions automatically, without user input.
Soil moisture
Agricultural controllers should have the ability to monitor and record the amount of water in the soil using soil moisture sensors, soil water potential sensors or any other technology to calculate soil moisture values at depths reflective of the root zones. In order to maintain consistent readings over growing years, it is important to have a system that can be deployed continuously without
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