Introduction

• Welcome and Outline of Contents

Principles: Soil moisture based irrigation systems

• Timed Irrigation
• Bypass Irrigation
• On-demand Irrigation

Components

• Irrigation Components
• Soil Moisture Sensors
• Sensor Details
• Sensor Placement

Practical Considerations

• Application of the System

(Please view the videos in the order listed above)

• Automatic Irrigation Based on Soil Moisture for Vegetable Crops
• Principles of On-Farm Water Managment
• Soil Plant Water Relationships
• Alternatives of Low Cost Soil Moisture Monitoring Devices for Vegetable Production in South Miami-Dade County
• Field Devices for Monitoring Soil Water Content

On-demand Irrigation

Potentially the most water efficient is the on-demand soil moisture-based irrigation system. It is a sensor based system that requires no timer. The irrigation both starts and stops depending on the soil moisture probe reading.

This system is not used in vegetable production, since it can potentially open all irrigation valves in a field at the same time and exceed the available water supply provided by the pump.