Abstract
Water is a sensitive and limited resource, mainly in intensively used agricultural areas in Austria , where groundwater is used as drinking water as well as for irrigation purposes. In order to guarantee a sustainable use of irrigation water, soil water measurement devices can be used to optimise irrigation, which means that controlling the soil water content in the entire root system may prevent water stress due to water deficiency on the one hand, and over wetting on the other hand. Furthermore, losses of nutrients due to leaching can be avoided. Several research studies on that topic were initiated during the last few years. The soil water status on selected fields planted with different crops (onions, carrots, sugar beets, sweet maize, zucchini) was monitored continuously by FDR (Frequency Domain Reflectometry) soil water measurement devices. Sensors in different depths measure the plant water uptake in the root zone under standard irrigation practices on different sites and different soils, respectively. The deepest sensor is installed to avoid deep percolation caused by over irrigation. By means of these data, irrigation could be regulated based on the actual plant water requirements to keep the soil water content within an ideal range for crop development.
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