TECHNOLOGY
D By
McKenna Corson
etermining soil mois- ture is vital for main- taining any kind of plant life, from a backyard herb
garden to acres of diverse green- ery spanning a park. Too much moisture and plant roots are unable to breathe. Not enough moisture and plants don’t receive enough sustenance. Tere are numerous ways to find soil moisture levels, and they range in cost, placement, technology and ability. Te most important aspect is figuring out what soil moisture reader matches a user and an area receiving irriga- tion. Is your land more in need of a soil mois- ture meter or a sensor?
Moisture meter break down
Soil moisture meters are portable devices that can quickly read moisture of different soil lo- cations at different times, says Eric Santos, CGIA, CIC, CID, CLIA, CAIS, CLWM, vice president of irrigation services at BrightView Holdings Inc., Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Meters detect electrical currents in the soil
by inserting probes into the soil and calculating a percentage of soil moisture content. “Monitoring moisture with a meter is a
way to manage water more efficiently,” Santos says. “Moisture meters will help us identify and correct problems such as coverage, fertility and uniformity issues so that we can improve the health and appearance of a system while using water efficiently.” When and where a meter is used provides
different information regarding irrigation ef- fectiveness, Santos adds. Knowing the soil type, the time of the last irrigation and the amount of water that was applied can help determine the best time to irrigate again. A user can determine if the soil has reached
field capacity by taking readings directly after watering.
A moisture meter can help a user determine if they are putting down enough water in a way
A BrightView employee installs a soil moisture sensor into the ground. Compared to soil moisture meters, sensors are permanent soil moisture readers kept
underground that can provide a bevy of information if connected to a smart controller. Photos: Eric Santos
that is slow enough using cycle and soak meth- ods to get the water to infiltrate into the root zone by knowing the precipitation rate of the zone and the watering time. Using moisture readings at two different
depths, a user can determine if their irrigation application is percolating beyond the root zone.
Moisture sensors
Soil moisture sensors are permanent under- ground systems that measure a soil’s water content at the location and depth where it was placed. Tere are many types of sensors, but in commercial landscape, the most common are tensiometers, granular matrix blocks and dielec- tric sensors, Santos says. But where meters provide moisture readings
of one location, sensors can be hooked up to controllers where an entire irrigation system can be programmed to meet a soil’s moisture needs. “Sensors measure the moisture within the soil to make sure it’s reaching where it needs to go,” says Forrest Jammer, CLIA, a project man- ager and landscape architect at Osborn Consult-
“The more sophisticated it becomes and the more information it gives the controller and the operator, the more precise they can be with the water.” – Brian Vinchesi, Irrigation Consulting
Spring 2022 Irrigation & Lighting 37
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