Irrigation Savings from Smart Irrigation Technologies and a Smartphone App on Turfgrass

Cardenas, Bernardo; Migliaccio, Kati W.; Dukes, Michael D.; Hahus, Ian; Kruse, Jason

doi:10.13031/trans.13903

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In 2019, however, the NDVI and percent green cover of the Rachio treatment decreased, despite similar irrigation water applications as the B-Hyve treatment, and tracked more closely to those of the control and Skydrop treatments. This finding is in contrast to that of several other studies that found that turfgrass quality remained acceptable with the implementation of smart irrigation controllers (Cardenas et al, 2020;Davis et al, 2009;Serena et al, 2019) and suggests that the effects of smart irrigation controllers on turfgrass health and quality may vary by location and over time.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Comparing Smart Irrigation Controllers for Turfgrass Landscapes

Evans¹,

Kopp

Johnson

et al. 2022

hortte

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Recent advances in irrigation technologies have led many states to incentivize homeowners to purchase United States Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense-labeled, smart irrigation controllers. However, previous research of smart controllers has shown that their use may still result in excess water application when compared with controllers manually programmed to replace actual water loss. This study compared kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) irrigation applications using three smart irrigation controllers, a conventional irrigation controller programmed according to Cooperative Extension recommendations, and the average irrigation rate of area homeowners in Utah during 2018 and 2019. Of all the controllers tested, the manually programmed controller applied water at amounts closest to the actual evapotranspiration rates; however, smart controllers applied from 30% to 63% less water than area homeowners, depending on the controller and year of the study. Kentucky bluegrass health and quality indicators—percent green cover and normalized difference vegetation indices—varied between years of the study and were lower than acceptable levels on several occasions in 2019 for three of the four controllers tested. Compared with the results of similar studies, these findings suggest that the effects of smart irrigation controllers on turfgrass health and quality may vary by location and over time.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Comparing Smart Irrigation Controllers for Turfgrass Landscapes

Evans¹,

Kopp

Johnson

et al. 2022

hortte

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show abstract

“…Smartphone applications to make irrigation scheduling easier based on local weather data have been developed (Migliaccio et al, 2015), and these apps can result in similar irrigation savings as smart controller technologies (Cardenas et al, 2020); however, studies have shown that trying to alter behavior alone can have a limited effect over time. Haley et al (2007) showed that manually adjusting timer irrigation schedules led to 30% reduction in irrigation with no negative effect on turfgrass quality.…”

Section: Human Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Two Decades of Smart Irrigation Controllers in U.S. Landscape Irrigation

Dukes¹

2020

Transactions of the ASABE

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HighlightsSavings numbers in new studies across multiple soil types and climates are similar to those summarized in 2011 and are summarized here as 51% in research plot studies and 30% in single-family homes.Studies of the human factors have begun showing how important the users are to success of the technology.Education in implementation remains important to achieve potential water conservation.Abstract. Smart irrigation controllers, such as evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture sensor (SMS) controllers, have become commonly available from virtually all irrigation controller manufacturers. This review summarizes the literature since the Fifth Decennial National Irrigation Symposium (NIS) concerning these controllers in research studies and pilot implementations. Studies have expanded to multiple climates throughout the U.S. on a variety of soils and plant types. When these devices are implemented properly on sites that have potential irrigation savings (i.e., excess irrigation), they are able to reduce irrigation while maintaining plant quality. The level of reduction depends on many factors, including the amount of excess irrigation, climate, plant type, and human interaction with the technology. When studies report positive savings, the levels documented here range from 40% to 61% (51% avg.) in plot studies and from 28% to 32% (30% avg.) in residential studies. Of 17 identified studies in the past decade, five reported negative savings, and in most cases those results were due to ET controllers installed on sites with little excess irrigation or controller programming that was not optimized for savings. New trends in the industry include Wi-Fi signal-based ET controllers with smartphone app capability, an upcoming standard for SMS controllers, as well as smart controllers becoming mandatory in areas of the U.S. As identified in the Fifth Decennial NIS, it remains important to implement controllers on sites with the potential for irrigation reduction as well as proper implementation with the best current information. Finally, there is a need to understand human interaction with these devices because improper programming can make the difference between a water-saving device and ineffective technology with a dissatisfied customer. Keywords: ET controller, Landscape irrigation, Smart controller, SMS, Soil moisture sensor, Soil water sensor.

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“…Irrigation for turf and landscape is a major use of municipal water in the U.S. and continues to be scrutinized by water planners and regulators looking for additional ways to conserve water. Four journal articles in this Special Collection were related to turf and landscape irrigation, three concerning irrigation controllers (Cardenas et al, 2020;Conger and Dukes, 2020;Dukes, 2020), and the other article (Allen et al, 2020b) was previously discussed in the Evapotranspiration section.…”

Section: Turf and Landscape Irrigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A two-year research study in Florida with smart irrigation technologies and a smart phone application (SP) was discussed by Cardenas et al (2020). Irrigation treatments based on the advanced technologies [i.e., soil moisture sensor (SMS), estimated ET, or SP] saved approximately 30% to 65% more water than traditional time-based irrigation control.…”

Section: Turf and Landscape Irrigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advances in irrigation technology [e.g., sensors, irrigation controllers, unmanned aerial systems (UAS)] and its adoption and the availability of innovative research, extension, and education programs in irrigation science were key factors in the progress of irrigation management in the U.S. during the past decade. Seven journal articles from this ASABE Special Collection are discussed in this section, but ten additional articles (Andrade et al, 2020a(Andrade et al, , 2020bCardenas et al, 2020;Conger and Dukes, 2020;Dukes, 2020;Evett et al, 2020b;Lena et al, 2020;O'Shaughnessy et al, 2020;Stone et al, 2020;Sui et al, 2020) discussed in other sections of this article easily overlap with this topic.…”

Section: Technology and Innovation (Sensors Technology Usage And Adoption Extension/education)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond 2020, Vision of the Future: Selected Papers from the Sixth Decennial National Irrigation Symposium

Lamm¹,

Dukes²,

Stone³

et al. 2021

Transactions of the ASABE

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HighlightsASABE/IA 6th National Irrigation Symposium includes 80 papers, with 36 introduced here in this Special Collection.Papers include current irrigation research about ET, management, turf systems, technology, humid region, water supply.Irrigation in the U.S. is growing more rapidly in humid regions, and pressurized irrigation continues to grow in usage.There has been much progress in irrigation science in the last decade, and the vision of the future looks bright.Abstract. This article introduces the ASABE Special Collection associated with the 6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium: Beyond 2020, Vision of the Future. This U.S. symposium, jointly sponsored by ASABE and the Irrigation Association in December 2021, was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic and consists of approximately 80 presentations, of which 36 were accepted as journal articles for this Special Collection. Irrigated land area appears to be growing slightly in the U.S. but is shifting geographically somewhat toward humid regions. Pressurized irrigation continues to grow, and gravity-fed irrigation continues to decline. Competition for stressed water resources among diverse water users remains great, and smaller numbers of irrigation scientists are available to meet the informational needs. Improved ability to acquire, assess, and use water and crop information helps to meet these challenges. This article discusses irrigation research progress in evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation management, turf systems, sensors and technologies, irrigation strategies in the humid region, and water supply. Challenges and opportunities continue to exist for irrigation in the U.S., but progress in the last decade has been steady, and a good vision for the future of irrigation beyond 2020 is anticipated. Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Irrigation, Irrigation management, Irrigation scheduling, Irrigation systems, Turf and landscape irrigation.

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Irrigation Savings from Smart Irrigation Technologies and a Smartphone App on Turfgrass

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Comparing Smart Irrigation Controllers for Turfgrass Landscapes

Comparing Smart Irrigation Controllers for Turfgrass Landscapes

Two Decades of Smart Irrigation Controllers in U.S. Landscape Irrigation

Beyond 2020, Vision of the Future: Selected Papers from the Sixth Decennial National Irrigation Symposium

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