T
he use of buried sensors
to measure soil moisture,
temperature and salinity has
increased significantly in golf course
irrigation management. Similar to the
use of weather stations that estimate
what’s happening above ground, soil
sensors provide the superintendent with
a look ‘under the hood’ to understand
what is happening in the root zone
below the soil surface. It is estimated
that five percent of golf courses in the
United States use sensor technology
to monitor conditions below the soil
surface, so a great opportunity exists
to increase the use of soil sensors to
improve irrigation management and
playing surface consistency.
Early attempts to monitor soil
moisture were labor intensive.
Gathering, recording and analyzing
data required a significant amount of
effort. As communication methods
improved and manufacturers
developed more reliable and accurate
sensors, the technology has become a
valuable tool in the golf industry.
Rain Bird Corporation introduced
the Integrated Sensor System in 2011,
incorporating a research-quality soil
sensor with advanced communication
technology to communicate data
to the irrigation computer. Rain
Bird’s Soil Manager software at the
computer integrates soil data with
the irrigation central control software,
providing sprinkler run times that can
be automatically adjusted based on
changes in soil moisture.
Large sensors systems have sensors
in multiple locations on different holes.
Monitoring two or three points on all
18 greens, plus key tee and fairway
locations requires 60–100 sensors and
an accompanying $100,000+ budget.
Installing soil sensors on all 18 holes
is beyond the budget of most golf
courses. Rather than waiting for a golf
course to justify a large capital budget
to install a complete sensing system,
superintendents have found the budget
to invest a few thousand dollars in a
‘starter’ system: a few sensors, a data
logger, repeater and software.
For a superintendent not familiar
with soil sensors, it is a new technology
to aid in daily decision-making. It
takes time to relate turfgrass response
under varying conditions to soil sensor
measurements. A minimum number
of sensors gets the superintendent
into the driver’s seat and on the way
to improving his knowledge of what is
happening “under the hood”. When
portable sensors are used to take
manual readings in combination with
an installed sensor system, results can
be monitored in several locations and
related to the automated sensor data.
Consistency of play is often improved
as a result of careful monitoring and
corresponding sprinkler run time
adjustment.
Soil sensors
Not just for the big boys
EXPERT VIEW
16
|
By Design
Sensors provide the superintendent with a look
‘under the hood’
to understand
what
is happening
with the root zone
Rain Bird’s Stuart Hackwell explains why every golf course, no matter
what its budget, should be making use of soil sensing technology
With a sensor system, each superintendent learns
something unique and different about their golf course
