Toward optimal irrigation management at the plot level: evaluation of commercial water potential sensors
Fecha
2023Versión
Acceso abierto / Sarbide irekia
Tipo
Artículo / Artikulua
Versión
Versión publicada / Argitaratu den bertsioa
Identificador del proyecto
Impacto
|
10.3390/s23229255
Resumen
Proper irrigation practice consists of applying the optimum amount of water to the soil at the right time. The porous characteristics of the soil determine the capacity of the soil to absorb, infiltrate, and store water. In irrigation, it is not sufficient to only determine the water content of the soil; it is also necessary to determine the availability of water for plants: water potential. In t ...
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Proper irrigation practice consists of applying the optimum amount of water to the soil at the right time. The porous characteristics of the soil determine the capacity of the soil to absorb, infiltrate, and store water. In irrigation, it is not sufficient to only determine the water content of the soil; it is also necessary to determine the availability of water for plants: water potential. In this paper, a comprehensive laboratory evaluation—accuracy and variability—of the world’s leading commercial water potential sensors is carried out. No such comprehensive and exhaustive comparative evaluation of these devices has been carried out to date. Ten pairs of representative commercial sensors from four different families were selected according to their principle of operation (tensiometers, capacitive sensors, heat dissipation sensors, and resistance blocks). The accuracy of the readings (0 kPa–200 kPa) was determined in two soils of contrasting textures. The variability in the recordings—repeatability and reproducibility—was carried out in a homogeneous and inert material (sand) in the same suction range. The response in terms of accuracy and value dispersion of the different sensor families was different according to the suction range considered. In the suction range of agronomic interest (0–100 kPa), the heat dissipation sensor and the capacitive sensors were the most accurate. In both families, registrations could be extended up to 150–200 kPa. The scatter in the readings across the different sensors was due to approximately 80% of the repeatability or intrinsic variability in the sensor unit and 20% of the reproducibility. Some sensors would significantly improve their performance with ad hoc calibrations. [--]
Materias
Agronomy,
Performance,
Soil water dynamics,
Soil water measurement,
Soil water monitoring
Editor
MDPI
Publicado en
Sensors 2023, 23(22), 9255
Departamento
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Ciencias /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Zientziak Saila /
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Ingeniería /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Ingeniaritza Saila /
Universidad Pública de Navarra/Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
Versión del editor
Entidades Financiadoras
This study was supported by funding from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Government of Spain) via Research Project CGL2015-64284-C2-1-R and PID2020-112908RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa”.