Agrimanagement uses the following methods to monitor soil moisture levels, as appropriate for the situation:

I. Gravimetric soil water content, our traditional method, utilizes multiple core composites to various depths to describe the soil moisture profile throughout the rooting zone. This method provides for ultimate flexibility.

II. Decagon ECH₂O sensors, a real-time moisture sensing system provides another option for those who are concerned with precision management. The capability exists for us to bring this data into a home office computer or smartphone via radio transmission for easy access and convenient viewing.

III. Watermark sensors are used in some situations where field variation is a concern as multiple stations can be installed and monitored at a reasonable cost.

The Gravimetric Approach. In our traditional method (I), each week or every other week, we will visit the field equipped with air-tight canisters and soil probes. These probes are capable of coring up to 4' or 5' depth, depending on the crop or location of the hard pan. Rather than coring at a single location, we walk the field in a pre-defined "representative sample strip". The soil collected will be a composite over a geographic area for a given foot depth. For many situations, this provides advantages and flexibility over single point sampling.

Once the soil has been collected, it is mixed and transferred to metal cans. The metal cans are then weighed, baked in an oven and weighed again. This "percent water by weight" (gravimetric approach) is reported to the grower in terms relative to the field capacity (water holding capacity of the soil) as percent available water and inches of profile depletion. We also include general scouting information and project the next weeks crop water use (ETP x crop coefficient). The crop coefficient helps both to further assess the crop's water requirements and to formulate a probable irrigation schedule.

Each report charts the changes in available soil moisture at various depths. These trend lines reveal where the soil moisture levels have been and they provide a guide toward making any needed adjustments to the schedule.

The ECH₂O System. Approach II uses installed capacitance sensors that are left in the field year round, unless removal for crop rotation is necessary. The sensors are attached to ECH₂O data loggers that record continuous realtime moisture readings in volumetric water percentages. The data loggers can be equipped to send this data via radio transmission to a base station where the data can be viewed on a personal computer or smartphone.

Irrometer Watermarks. Approach III involves the measurement of soil water tension using Watermark sensors in representative locations. Readings are taken on a weekly or every other week schedule. The data is presented graphically to show trends and a detailed recommendation is included.

Report Delivery. All types of reports can be emailed, faxed, mailed, or posted up on our grower website, typically a day after sampling.

If you are interested in learning more about your crop and it's water requirements or you would like to discuss our sampling services please contact, Don Jameson, or Scott Stephen.