FAQs - FIELD SCALE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS & MANAGEMENT

Q: What are the benefits of soil-moisture monitoring?
A: Soil moisture monitoring helps the producer from over-applying or under-applying irrigation water during application and throughout the growing season. In order to monitor soil moisture, it is important to know soil type and soil texture to better understand available water capacity for the plant or crop and field capacity, the balance between water moving downward through the soil profile and upward as in evaporation. Once information about field capacity is obtained then capillary force, the water stored in the root zone, can be determined. Some of this water is available to the crop while some of it is not. If the amount of water that a plant needs to sustain itself is not available, the plant will wilt, decreasing plant-water-soil optimization and eventually affecting maximum yield.