The rule of thumb
What's the most widely used rule to determine irrigation practice? The rule of thumb. Not quite adequate any more, one is tempted to say. Today's irrigation needs go ways beyond pouring water on plants. Who irrigates properly can largely influence

- crop yield and quality,
- the effectiveness of fertilizers,
- soil salinity and oxygen content,
- balance of micro-organisms,
- his water bill,
- lifetime of pumps and equipment,
  and much more.

To achieve the above one will need not only solid Know-How, but also the proper tools to find out what's right and what's wrong. For many years Adcon has developed efficient decision support systems, dedicated to supply the irrigation manager with the data he needs.

Soil moisture vs. ETo?
Some people get in a fight over this. There are Pro's and Con's for both methods. Adcon lets you have either one, be it a single point or a multi-level soil measurement site or a professional ET station - or both!

What is it that matters?
Soil and crop are closely linked to each other in a dynamic, permanently changing relation. The needs of an emerging plant on soil still soaked from snow melt is entirely different from the needs of that very same plant on a hot and dry day in late August, prior to harvest. Irrigating all season following the same pattern is rather not recommended and can lead to very undesirable results.

What are some of the key elements that need to be taken into consideration?
- Which types of soil am I dealing with?
- How much water can these soils hold?
- How much water do my crops need in their respective
  phenological phases?
- How deep down are the active root zones of my crops?
- Which effect does dry stress have on my crops?
- When and how do I need to fertilize/fertigate?
- ...... to name but a few of the the most important questions.

Given the above it becomes obvious that every crop, every pheno-phase, every soil type and every terrain have their own specific requirements, and that uniform application of irrigation no matter when and where can't be the solution.

Probably the most irrigation research was done in viticulture, which is easy to explain: even seemingly small errors can have tremendous effects, making all the difference between premium wine and plonk. Viticulture has also created many irrigation experts, mastering the most difficult and demanding irrigation techniques, like "controlled deficit irrigation" and "partial root zone drying", thus determining color and taste, sugar contents and pulp.

How can technology help?
Every irrigation management decision is based on lots of data. Data that needs to be accurate, reliable and readily available in almost real time. From every site, every crop, every micro climate. With the data coming to the grower, and not the other way round.

What are the advantages of an Adcon radio solution?
- get site specific soil and weather data in almost real time,
- monitor soil moisture in various levels of the soil profile with a   large variety of soil moisture sensors
- monitor water uptake
- monitor the efficiency of your irrigation system
- calculate evapotranspiration
- access your data from anywhere and anytime through Adcon's
  addVANTAGE Pro 5.4 internet based software with WAP service

The benefits at a glance:
- Get important data automatically and 24/7
- Irrigate only when and as much as necessary (can save 50% of
   water and more!)
- Avoid over-irrigation and too much dry stress
- No wash-out of nutrients
- Irrigation corresponding to the respective phenological phases
- Control your crops yield
- Control your crops quality
- Save time and money
- Operate environmentally friendly
- Make more profit!