Monitoring Soil Moisture for Irrigation Water Management

Monitoring soil moisture is an alternate method to water-based balance methods of managing irrigation water. Using this method you can "see" what is going on in the soil and determine answers to some key irrigation management questions:

Did enough water infiltrate the soil?
Is too much water being applied?
What is the water uptake pattern of the roots?
When should irrigation take place?
What was the depth reached by the irrigation?

Includes 24 figures and 7 tables, metric conversions, and an appendix of typical root depths.

One of a series of water management handbooks prepared by the UC Irrigation Program.