Aquaflex soil moisture sensor

[Peter John]

As CEO of the organisation that researched and developed Aquaflex, I 
have been monitoring the Aquaflex discussion with interest.  I 
certainly had to bite my tongue at the "black art" comment and to 
allay any fears as to the origins of the device I offer the 
following, ending with a plea to all involved in moisture 
measurement and irrigation management instrumentation.  

Aquaflex was developed over nearly a decade of research and 
development, initially by the New Zealand Agricultural Engineering
Institute, which later became Lincoln Technology.  Lincoln Technology
is part of Lincoln Ventures, the R&D arm of Lincoln University.

NZAEI/Lincoln Ventures has been involved in irrigation research for 
30 years.  In that time it has received a number of awards for 
innovation in irrigation management.  For example, a former NZAEI 
staff member received the prestigious USIA Crawford Reid Memorial  
Award for his "significant contributions to the world irrigation 
industry". Lincoln Ventures also produces IRRICAD, the irrigation 
design program used in 34 countries around the world.

I can therefore assure readers that Aquaflex has a sound technical 
pedigree. 

Its good to see so many devices being explained and their developers 
questioned - all valuable stuff.  But, we must ensure that we look 
outwards as well as in.  As a group we and the industries we serve 
might benefit most by concentrating on building confidence (out in 
the irrigation community) in soil moisture monitoring as a valuable 
contribution to good water management genarally and, in the ag 
sector, increasing profitability for farmers and growers.  Let's work 
together to increase the size of the total market, accepting that 
there will be fighting over what's there at the moment.  The fact is 
that different devices will have greater or lesser value in 
different circumstances.  Lincoln Ventures researchers and 
consultants do not hesitate to recommend an alternative to Aquaflex 
if they believe it better suits the client's requirements.  What we 
all have to remember is that a dissatisfied customer may hurt us 
all. not only the particular manufacturer and supplier involved.

Peter John
Chief Executive Officer
Lincoln Ventures
Lincoln University