Frequently Asked Questions
The following information is provided to help customers work more effectively with PureSense Customer Support. This information is presented as a series of FAQs and How-to Tips, and can be used as a handy reference guide for all PureSense supported customers.
Agricultural Solutions: Irrigation Manager
Answers
Why should soil moisture be monitored continuously?
Understanding plant health is critical to meeting your crop production and quality targets each year. The pattern of soil moisture use throughout the day and night between irrigation events provides you with direct information about the health, robustness, and growth of their crops. Continuous monitoring means that patterns can be properly identified to ensure that you are making the best decisions possible about irrigation scheduling, application duration, fertigation and pesticide control applications, as well as harvest timing and expectations.
What is capacitance and what does it measure?
Capacitance sensors consist essentially of a pair of electrodes (either an array of parallel spikes or circular metal rings) which form a capacitor with the soil acting as the dielectric in between. This capacitor works with the oscillator to form a tuned circuit, and changes in soil water content are detected by changes in the operating frequency.
Are there other ways of monitoring soil moisture conditions?
Yes, there are several methods of monitoring soil moisture conditions. For a complete review of these methods, please download our Soil Moisture Monitoring Survey.
Why should I monitor my local weather conditions?
Local weather conditions can be substantially different from that of a regional weather station available through networked weather reference sites (e.g., NOAA, weather.com, CMIS). Microclimate monitoring provides growers with targeted information useful in scheduling various chemical and pesticide applications. Above- and below-canopy sensors for temperature and relative humidity can provide grape growers, for example, with direct evidence that conditions are suitable for certain types of pests or diseases that require direct action.
How do I interpret my soil moisture data?
The soil moisture data in the PureSense Irrigation Manager application reports the millimeters of water per 100 millimeters of soil (mm H20/100mm). This is also representative of the percentage (%) soil moisture. The maximum soil moisture content of any given soil is less than 100%, and represents the total water content that can be held in the pore space of the soil matrix. The free available moisture is that which is not strongly held by the soil itself, and therefore, readily available for root uptake. Therefore, the minimum soil moisture required to sustain crop production will be greater than zero, and will be dependent on the type of soil represented in the root zone.
After gaining some experience with your soil moisture readings, irrigation targets can be set that represent the upper and lower boundary conditions necessary for crop production. The upper boundary represents the maximum soil moisture condition for your fields that promotes continuous root activity and sustains crop production across a reasonable period of time without replenishment. The lower boundary represents the minimum soil moisture condition before crop deterioration begins and signals when the next irrigation event should take place.
Understanding your soil refill rate for each targeted zone (depth profile level), you can also set your irrigation duration to maximize the efficiency of your irrigation practices, minimize your total irrigation water requirements, minimize your pest and disease risks, and maximize the productivity of your crop yields.
How do I set my upper and lower soil moisture boundaries?
The PureSense application lets you set your upper and lower soil moisture boundaries in order to help you manage your irrigation decisions. By double-clicking on an icon, you open the time series chart. Select the “Show/Hide Configuration” button to set your own preferences on how the chart is displayed. You can directly enter your upper and lower boundaries for soil moisture for each soil moisture level monitored or any other parameter. The upper and lower boundaries will appear on the chart as management control lines when you select “Update Chart” and will be saved if you select “Save Configuration”. To be alarmed when your soil moisture exceeds either threshold, then open the Inventory in your application (under “View” on your main menu), go to the soil moisture probe of interest, and toggle on the “Analyze” button by scrolling to the right under the table of inventory information for that monitoring station.
How do I use the PureSense Irrigation Manager to improve my irrigation scheduling practice?
By setting your practices to measured soil moisture conditions, your irrigation practices can be managed directly by the system. Simply define your upper and lower boundaries for soil moisture and turn on the “Analyze” condition so that alerts are generated. The alerts should be sent to your staff responsible for the irrigation operation of each monitoring station. In this way, they are notified when the system should be turned on and then turned off. PureSense technical support staff can assist you with this set up if you have not yet activated your application – just call 510-420-8030 or email us at customersupport@puresense.com
Who do I contact if I am experiencing problems with my system?
For technical support questions please submit a Technical Support Request Form
Can I learn from other users about how to improve my practices using PureSense’s Irrigation Manager application?
Yes! PureSense is organizing User Group Forums where users can chat with each other about topics of mutual interest and share lessons learned in using PureSense’s Irrigation Manager application.
How can I learn more about PureSense applications and services?
Contact PureSense directly at 888-882-PURE or emai sales@puresense.com.