A soil moisture sensor-based variable rate irrigation scheduling system

To assess the potential of precision irrigation, a research and demonstration project whose goal is to develop a soil moisture sensor-based variable rate irrigation (VRI) control system was begun. The control system consists of a wireless soil moisture sensing array with a high density of sensor nodes, a VRI enabled center pivot irrigation system, and a web-based user interface with an integrated irrigation scheduling decision support system. This paper describes the system in detail providing some results from the components which have been completed and are operational and a detailed description of the components under development.