Re: Aquaflex soil moisture sensor

[Adrian Orloff]

> Interesting stuff, sounds like a new "black art". What has been published
> on this.....supply some peer review references please....or do we have to
> take the word of the supplier alone? In reviewing your website I don't see
[BIG SNIP]
> Regards, John Johnston - ESI (USA)
>

There is a wide (and ever increasing ) range of soil moisture sensors being
developed and being released onto the market. Some work, and others do not. As
consultants and distributors in Australia, we are seeking and using a range of
sensors that will suite our clients varying needs and applications. Whether they
be gypsum blocks, tensiometers, or more sophisticated logging systems.

Aquaflex is ideally suited to applications in shallow rooted crops such as
pastures, turf, some vegetable crops, etc. We have worked with the system, in
conjunction with Melbourne University, Goulburn Murray Water and various
Departments of Agriculture, and we have found the equipment to be extremely
reliable, repeatable and robust. These are the main criteria we are interested
in. Accuracy comes with calibration, and in many of our practical applications,
the actual numbers being generated are not as critical as the changes in values
caused by wetting and drying. If true moisture values are required, then sensor
need to be calibrated.

For clients that require monitoring multiple points down profiles to depths of
1.0m for example, we would not recommend Aquaflex. However, for applications
where averaging over 3.0m laterally, and in shallow rooted crops, Aquaflex has
proven to be extremely valuable. Aquaflex is another management tool which
we can
use to improve irrigation management practices. It has provided us with a
monitoring tool to allow our clients to measure soil moisture in a way that has
not previously been practically possible.

Adrian OrloffSMMS
Australia