Soil Moisture Monitoring

Sentek are the world leaders in soil moisture monitoring. Some of these robust systems have been in place in TGS clients fields for over 10 years. The soil moisture monitoring systems are extremely flexible with variations available in sensor number, sensor type, sensor height, cable or remote data collection. The systems work with any irrigation system.

Soil moisture monitoring is critical to optimum production and plant health in any crop. The EnviroScan® system allows us to plot plant water use down to minutes if required. We can then determine at what soil moisture level the plant extracts maximum moisture representing full growth potential. When water extraction declines the plant is under stress, which can be seen in the data well before visual symptoms appear. Leaching losses from overfull profiles can also be detected and avoided, eliminating fertiliser wastage and environmental concerns.

Lesser known is the link between soil moisture and plant health. Calcium is an ion with low phloem mobility, meaning the plant cannot move it around in the sap. A weakening of the transpiration stream will therefore result in plants producing leaves and roots low in calcium and susceptible to fungal and nematode attack.

Download options include, direct internet download, desktop cables, laptop cables, and Next G modems. The EnviroScan® software is highly flexible offering many options for interpretive charts.