Optimizing Soil Moisture Uniformity and Irrigation Management

This research is a study on the relationship of irrigation water treatments and soil moisture distribution uniformity (DU). Soil moisture distribution was based on long-term data sets that were collected during wet and dry soil conditions (from permanent wilting point to field capacity) using a novel electromagnetic sensor-based platform moving inside subsurface horizontal access-tubes. The irrigation treatments regarding two case studies under dry and wet soil conditions were conducted for a period of 115 days and 110 days respectively. In dry soil conditions, the irrigation water treatments strongly affect the DU of soil moisture that can be achieved constantly using variable rate irrigation treatments. On the contrary, the DU of soil moisture in wet soil conditions was maintained at a high percentage and was slightly affected by irrigation treatments. However, obtaining accurate soil moisture information at a large scale over a long period can be used to improve water use efficiency.