Technical
It has long been recognised that a blanket application of water is wasteful and tackling this in practice is now made easier with improved sensor technology, control software and advanced sprinkler designs
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No turfcare professional will need reminding that a sports pitch will have areas shaded by the surrounding stadium during different parts of the day, with resulting alterations in the turf’s need for irrigation. An exposed golf green will need different management compared to one that is in a low‐lying part of the course and in a shaded area. It has long been recognised that a blanket application of water is wasteful and tackling this in practice is now made easier with improved sensor technology, control software and advanced sprinkler designs.
Accurate monitoring
management regime and to help ensure installed systems can be maintained and updated to take advantage of improved control and sprinkler technology. As with so many management systems turfcare professionals have learned to master over the years, irrigation has evolved from a tool employed ‘to keep the grass green’ into a far more considered system. Accurate sensors can now alert those tasked with managing playing surfaces to falling moisture levels in the growing season long before the turf starts to exhibit any sign of moisture stress. Modern control systems can automate the irrigation system and, of equal importance, provide remote irrigation access with full record keeping.
It’s all about control. Irrigation can be used to ensure the turf’s impact upon playability is more easily controlled, and can
provide consistent moisture to deliver an optimised playing surface. As an example, irrigating early in the morning ahead of a day’s play will help ensure the greens start the day at similar moisture levels, and that is an incredibly good benefit to have, especially when hosting a tournament.
This is not meant to suggest there is a sudden awareness of how irrigation interacts with the wider management of the turf. Far from it. What has changed is the development of how irrigation systems can be controlled, plus developments in details to include sprinkler design. It is perhaps the intelligent element that is at the heart of a well‐planned, modern irrigation system. The ability to accurately tailor water application to precise conditions and requirements can help ensure turf will respond as expected in relation to its localised environment.
Measuring changes in moisture, temperature and other variables such as salinity is not a new idea. What modern technology can do is make this monitoring not only easier, but integrate it into how the irrigation system is controlled. Take the wireless Toro Turf Guard soil monitoring system as an example. The system employs self‐contained sensor units that can be positioned without the need for wiring. Each sensor sends signals to monitoring software, repeaters and a powerful base station allowing large areas to be covered.
The invaluable data individual wireless sensors can record enables more informed adjustments to irrigation schedules to be made. As well as water‐saving benefits, accurate monitoring can help alert users to the conditions that can lead to other problems, drainage issues and turf stress. As the wireless sensors are not static, they can be moved around to easily optimise their positioning, taking into account changes in shading on a pitch through to moving to a different position on a green. It follows that soil monitoring systems were primarily developed to prevent over‐ and under‐watering. Equally important, information recorded by soil monitoring provides valuable data over extended
PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 I 129
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