removal. Every time a sensor is installed, removed and installed again, readings may vary. Soil moisture data aids in determining timing of irrigation events, depth of irrigation applied and a value included in the soil-water balance calculation.
Evapotranspiration – ET
Commercial grade weather stations and other sources of forecasted and current weather data can provide valuable information to determine what amount of water is utilized by the crop each day. Controllers should have the ability to integrate a local weather station or retrieve localized weather data.
Many controllers can operate independently and apply irrigation rates based on daily or cumulative rates provided by a weather station or weather data source. Most systems would only require a crop coefficient to determine ETc. Using the Penman-Monteith calculation is still a trusted way of calculating ETo. Today there are many sensors that calculate this data, and the controller selected should have the ability to receive that information or be entered manually by the user.
Web server data archiving & viewing
Controllers must be capable of logging each event of the irrigation system and provide secure and reliable data communication to a cloud or web-hosted solution. Data should be capable of being downloaded in several industry standard formats to include PDF, Excel, Word, CSV, XML, PowerPoint and more.
Data should be organized and displayed to provide end users with actionable information and allow them to make adjustments to irrigation schedules. The web service should also provide a means of sending alerts to recognize basic parameters that are monitored in the system. Producers must also have the ability to react quickly to system failures or environmental alarms.
Commercial grade weather station designed with sensors to accurately calculate ET and integrate with a controller
Eric Elle is the product development manager for the Eco-Drip Irrigation Supply Crop Management Technologies Department. He developed the EC3 line of irrigation controllers and remote monitoring telemetry currently available on the market.
12 Irrigation TODAY | July 2018 Data dashboard displaying near real-time data to allow users to make informative decisions, see reports and set real-time alerts
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