Soil Moisture Monitoring

 

Combining Sentek's industry-leading soil moisture sensor technology with AgriNET's reliable telemetry line yields information farmers and researchers need to make sound irrigation decisions, reporting, and stress classifications.

Tuctronics/AgriNET is a Sentek dealer. We have over ten years experience designing, manufacturing, and installing moisture monitoring probes with telemetry.

 

Sentek sensors utilize capacitance-based technology to provide near-continuous measurements within the soil profile.

 

By creating a high-frequency electrical field around the sensor, and extending it through the access tube into the surrounding soil, the sensors are able to detect the changes in dielectric constant, or permittivity, of the soil over time. At high frequency, the measurement is affected predominantly by water molecules. The greater the amount of water, the smaller the frequency measured between the two brass rings of the sensor.

We have motorized equipment to speed through probe deployment while maintaining undisturbed installations. AgriNET is an approved Sentek undisturbed probe installer. Undisturbed installation is important, as it yields the most highly-precise, error-free data. Undisturbed installation means the sharp edge of the access tube makes the final cut of soil, thus avoiding air gaps that will influence and may cause erratic sensor readings. Non-undisturbed installations cause soil from different depths to be mixed, which means compaction qualities are lost, leading to soil moisture values that don't accurately represent the true soil conditions.

 

AgriNET App is the state-of-the-art moisture charting and analysis tool. Its use helps to ensure precision irrigation scheduling. It allows the grower to understand rooting depths and root uptake, as well as create budget lines for saturation, full point, refill points, and stress.

 

AgriNET designed and manufactures the only 5-Wire telemetry solution on the market for Sentek probes, providing an inexpensive upgrade path for those with 5-Wire cards.

 

Data Acquisition Options:

 

• On Site Manual Reading - Diviner

• Manual Download - EnviroSCAN Solo/Porter

• Telemetry Systems - EnviroSCAN, Plus and Multi with AgriNET telemetry options

 

Undisturbed soil access tube installations in permanent crops for Diviner will accept EnviroSCAN probes for Solo/PORTER, EnviroSCAN 5-wire and Plus probes to allow for an easy upgrade to telemetry and desktop data convenience.