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u FEATURE u MADAN SAPKOTA, CHASE M. STRAW, AND WESTON W. FLOYD,
DEPARTMENT OF SOIL AND CROP SCIENCES, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
ELIA SCUDIERO, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
Microwave
Radiometry:
Figure 1 a) Portable L-band Radiometer (PoLRa, i.e., turfRad)
sensor mounted on a fairway mower at the golf course.
Figure 1 b) Time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements (ground
truth data) from the data collection conducted on August 14, 2023.
As global demand for freshwater
intensifies and the environmental
impact of water use becomes more
apparent, golf course super-
intendents face increasing pressure
to manage water resources more
efficiently. Conventional irrigation
scheduling methods may result in
overwatering or underwatering,
leading to water waste and negatively
affecting turfgrass health and
playability. Precision irrigation has
emerged as an advanced approach
that applies water precisely where
and when it is needed, using
technologies that monitor soil
moisture and optimize irrigation
practices.
Accurate soil moisture data are
crucial for precision irrigation, as they
provide real-time information
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• CGSA • GreenMaster
necessary for refining irrigation
schedules, minimizing water waste,
and maintaining healthy turfgrass.
However, current sensor techn-
ologies face challenges in covering
large areas like golf course fairways.
While traditional methods, such as
gravimetric techniques, are accurate,
they are also labour-intensive and
impractical for large-scale use. Time
domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors,
commonly used by Superintendents
in the United States, provide real-
time data with less labour but are
limited to point-specific measure-
ments, making them less efficient for
extensive areas.
To overcome these limitations,
new solutions are needed to improve
the accuracy and reliability of soil
moisture measurements over large
areas, ultimately enhancing water
conservation and promoting health-
ier turfgrass.
INTRODUCING MICROWAVE
RADIOMETRY
To address the limitations of current
soil moisture sensing technologies,
microwave sensing emerges as a
promising solution for large-scale,
accurate soil moisture measurement
on golf courses. Microwave sensing
can be categorized into active and
passive methods.
Active microwave sensing, such
as synthetic aperture radar (SAR),
involves emitting microwave signals
to the ground and measuring the
reflected signals. This method is
effective for mapping surface
features but can be complex and
resource intensive.