Sensors and Sensor Network Systems for Improved Irrigation Scheduling.

Weather monitoring and plant- and soil water-sensing feedback provide an opportunity to meet temporally and spatially variable crop water needs. Applying the appropriate amount of water based on the level of crop water stress can also promote water conservation and prevent over-irrigation, run-off and deep percolation. At the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, Texas, ARS scientists are evaluating thresholds of an integrated crop water stress index from a moving network of canopy temperature sensors and soil water depletion thresholds taken from TDR probes in a few locations strategically placed in the field to systematically manage irrigation scheduling and crop water use efficiency. The presentation addresses the sensor network systems and crop responses from the past two years using this combination of sensor-based water management.