Grasshopper: micro-sonic sensor technology enables enhanced height measurement by a Rising Plate Meter

摘要

Globally, the Rising Plate Meter (RPM) is utilised as a grassland management tool to measure compressed sward height (CSH) to estimate herbage mass (HM). A RPM utilising a micro-sonic sensor and digital data capture via a Bluetooth communications link to a smart device application has been developed, i.e. the Grasshopper. Here we examine the accuracy of height measurement by the Grasshopper compared to a standard cumulative ratchet counter RPM.