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The Cosmic‐ray Soil Moisture Observation System (Cosmos) for Estimating the Crop Water Requirement: New Approach
Author(s) -
Ragab R.,
Evans J.G.,
Battilani A.,
Solimando D.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.2152
Subject(s) - water content , environmental science , cosmos (plant) , irrigation , soil science , moisture , soil horizon , soil water , dns root zone , crop , field capacity , hydrology (agriculture) , agronomy , geology , meteorology , physics , geotechnical engineering , art , biology , art history
Abstract Soil moisture is a crucial parameter to determine the crop water requirement for irrigation. The soil moisture deficit (SMD) of the root zone is an indicator that can be used to determine the exact crop water requirement. Application of the recent technology of COsmic‐ray Soil Moisture Observation System (Cosmos) provides continuous, integrated, area‐based values, with a measurement radius of up to 400 m, whilst being non‐invasive. In a field experiment in Italy, the Cosmos probe was used over a mixed crop area during the cropping seasons of 2014 and 2015. The results showed that soil moisture values obtained by Cosmos were comparable with those obtained for the top 0–60 cm layer soil moisture measured by sensors, soil cores, profile probes and with values simulated by the SALTMED model. This indicates that the Cosmos probe's effective depth of sensing is within the top 0–60 cm. Knowing that almost 80% of the crop root system is accommodated within the top 0–60 cm, the Cosmos measurement could be useful for monitoring the soil water status and SMD in the root zone in irrigated agriculture. The Cosmos system could be made operational for irrigation managers to determine when and how much to irrigate. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.