Progress Update on the Demonstration Plots at the Water Conservation Center

Soil moisture probes from GroGuru and AquaSpy were installed across various plots to evaluate irrigation application and crop responses to drip irrigation. Figure 3 illustrates the soil moisture graphs from AquaSpy for the P14364PCUE AquaMax hybrid under both full and limited water conditions.

It is evident that the full water treatment, which applies 0.5 inches every two days, effectively maintains soil moisture compared to the 0.28 inches every two days in the limited water treatment.

Fortunately, the entire field began with a full soil moisture profile, as confirmed by the GroGuru probes, providing ample moisture, even under restricted irrigation.

Upon examining the black lines in each graph, you will notice that the stair-stepping-representing the amount of water the plant "drinks" daily-is more pronounced in the full water treatment. This trend is particularly noticeable in the last few days of the graph, where the increased irrigation correlates with higher water consumption by the plants.