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July 2008 |
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Sensors monitor water efficiency of dairy industryCSIRO’s Tasmania ICT Centre (TasICT) is carrying out a project in Northern Tasmanian to explore water use efficiency in the dairy industry as part of the Water Resources Observation Network (WRON). A seventy-node wireless sensor network is collecting soil moisture information from a trial paddock at the Tasmania Institute of Agricultural Research’s Elliot Research Farm near Burnie. This information is being used to develop data evaluation models to automate the operation of a deficit irrigation system in the trial paddock. In Tasmania, it is estimated that 70 per cent of water allocated for agricultural use is used to irrigate dairy pastures. A significant amount of water can be saved through efficient irrigation strategies. One way for farmers to increase water-use efficiency is deficit irrigation. The idea behind deficit irrigation is to provide less water input than 100 per cent of the potential evapo-transpiration during the growing season. This approach causes some degree of plant stress. The key to the use of deficit irrigation is to optimise the timing and degree of stress within the constraints of available water, climate and economics, without compromising plant yield. To date, TasICT has deployed a 70-node wireless sensor network to provide real time monitoring of soil moisture in the root zone of dairy pasture. One additional node collects weather information from an automated weather station. Information on the amount of irrigation water used is collected and reported by an independent telemetry system, a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information.
Work is continuing to automatically use the data to develop a spatial picture of soil moisture and the level of plant stress. This is planned for completion by August 2008, allowing the complete system to be trialled over Spring and Summer 2008/2009. A major issue with the deployment of the sensor system has been preventing the dairy cows from damaging the pods. Cows will chew and rub at any rigid structure with amazing persistence. The pods were manufactured from PVC pipe fittings. The angled solar panel subassembly allowed the cows to unscrew the threaded connection, despite the connections being tight. Once unscrewed the parts could be crushed by the cows. Acknowledgments Thanks to the staff of the Tasmania Institute for Agricultural Research for their assistance. This project is jointly funded by the CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Tasmanian Government through the Intelligent Island Program. The Intelligent Island Program is administered by the Tasmanian Department of Economic Development.
Contact: Mike Kearney, CSIRO Land and Water
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