FEEDBACK BASED CONTROL OF TURFGRASS IRRIGATION IN THE HUMID REGION

摘要

At current water use growth rates, supply for future demand is uncertain in many locations ofrnFlorida. Rain sensors are required on automatic irrigation systems installed after 1991 in Floridarnand, recently, commercially available soil moisture sensors for irrigation control have beenrnintroduced into the market. This paper summarizes part of the irrigation research carried out inrnFlorida with respect to the use of these sensors and their effectiveness for water conservation inrnlandscape irrigation. Rain sensors and soil moisture sensors are being tested under controlledrnexperimental conditions and under homeowner conditions. Experimental results show that bothrnrain sensors and soil moisture sensors can save water (34%, and up to 92%, respectively)rncompared to a time-based treatment, when operated under wet weather conditions. Initial resultsrnfrom testing on single family homes show that these technologies have substantial water savingsrnpotential. In both plot scale and single family home scale testing, turf quality reduction has notrnbeen found when using any of the tested sensors.