The University of Georgia Smart Sensor Array (UGA SSA) for Scheduling Irrigation

To assess the potential of precision irrigation, we began a research and demonstration project whose goal is to develop a soil moisture sensor-based variable rate irrigation (VRI) control system.  The control system consists of a wireless soil moisture sensing array with a high density of sensor nodes, a VRI enabled center pivot irrigation system, and a web-based user interface with an integrated irrigation scheduling decision support system.  This paper describes the development and use of the University of Georgia Smart Sensor Array (UGA SSA) – a key component of our overall system.  The UGA SSA was tested extensively in 12 farmer fields during 2013.  We will present performance results and how the UGA SSA can be used to schedule irrigation in cotton.