Abstract
Soil moisture sensors can improve water management efficiency by measuring soil volumetric water content (θv) in real time. Soil-specific calibration equations used to calculate θv can increase sensor accuracy. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the performance of several commercial sensors and to establish soil-specific calibration equations for different soil types. We tested five Florida sandy soils used for citrus production (Pineda, Riviera, Astatula, Candler, and Immokalee) divided into two depths (0.0–0.3 and 0.3–0.6 m). Readings were taken using twelve commercial sensors (CS650, CS616, CS655 (Campbell Scientific), GS3, 10HS, 5TE, GS1 (Meter), TDT-ACC-SEN-SDI, TDR315, TDR315S, TDR135L (Acclima), and Hydra Probe (Stevens)) connected to a datalogger (CR1000X; Campbell Scientific). Known amounts of water were added incrementally to obtain a broad range of θv. Small 450 cm3 samples were taken to determine the gravimetric water content and calculate the θv used to obtain the soil-specific calibration equations. Results indicated that factory-supplied calibration equations performed well for some sensors in sandy soils, especially 5TE, TDR315L, and GS1 (R2 = 0.92) but not for others (10HS, GS3, and Hydra Probe). Soil-specific calibrations from this study resulted in accuracy expressed as root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 0.018 to 0.030 m3 m−3 for 5TE, CS616, CS650, CS655, GS1, Hydra Probe, TDR310S, TDR315, TDR315L, and TDT-ACC-SEN-SDI, while lower accuracies were found for 10HS (0.129 m3 m−3) and GS3 (0.054 m3 m−3). This study provided soil-specific calibration equations to increase the accuracy of commercial soil moisture sensors to facilitate irrigation scheduling and water management in Florida sandy soils used for citrus production.
Highlights
Irrigated agriculture is becoming increasingly important due to the rise in human population and food demand [1]
This study provided soil-specific calibration equations to increase the accuracy of commercial soil moisture sensors to facilitate irrigation scheduling and water management in Florida sandy soils used for citrus production
This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of data collected from commercial capacitance sensors and to establish calibration equations for different sandy soils used for citrus production in Florida
Summary
Irrigated agriculture is becoming increasingly important due to the rise in human population and food demand [1]. Different irrigation technologies can be deployed to improve the planning and management of water resources for agricultural production. The most used irrigation methods are surface, subsurface, sprinkler, and microirrigation. The use of each method depends on the crop, environmental conditions, and installation and maintenance costs. Surface irrigation entails water flowing by gravity over soil and includes furrow, basin, and border irrigation methods. Subsurface irrigation applies water below the soil surface to raise the water table into or near the plant root zone
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