Magazine - Two Rivers, Hunter Valley and AquaSpy

By Press Release in General News on 23rd Jun 2009 6:00

AquaSpy soil moisture sensor technology is an essential part of Brett Keeping’s operation at Two Rivers’ Inglewood vineyard, located on the banks of the Hunter River just outside the Hunter Valley township of Denman in NSW.

Brett and his irrigation manager Steve Kendall carefully monitor all stages of vine growth so they reach the optimum balance for each individual variety.

A key step in that process is controlling irrigation across the vineyard. “We look at the soil moisture data every day,” says Brett, who has been awarded the distinction of Hunter Valley Vigneron of the Year as well as Hunter Valley Farmer of the Year.

“Even though we’ve had quite a wet season, the AquaSpy technology is the only way you can find out how effective the rainfall has been and where the moisture is in the root zone.”

“The probes are definitely an important tool in both wet and dry weather.”

AquaSpy Group has developed the world’s most advanced soil moisture monitoring technology – a high frequency digital device housed in an industrially designed tube that is simple, low cost, has plug and play capability and is without peer when it comes to accuracy and repeatability.

Each probe is “stacked” with layers of sensors that provide precise and easy monitoring at multiple depths - as deep as 1.5m - so the vigneron and irrigation manager understand what is happening in the root zone. From there the probe can deliver intelligence on infiltration rates, root activity, drainage and crop water use.

The data, which is downloaded to a computer, is highly repeatable which is critical for irrigation scheduling. The graphical display enables Brett and Steve to watch the plant extract soil moisture through a continuous logging process.

Physically, the design of the AquaSpy probe overcomes the limitations encountered by traditional capacitance probes. AquaSpy Group has created a fully sealable access tube that enables the sensors to sit against the inner wall of the tube housing tube. This eliminates one of the major issues plaguing soil moisture sensors – the air gap. This dramatically raises the bar when it comes to the sensor’s accuracy, precision and repeatability.

Brian Thomson at Porosity Agricultural Services at Mudgee supplied and installed early generation AquaSpy equipment at Two Rivers, as well as providing top level agronomic advice to interpret detailed data downloaded from the soil moisture sensors. From there, Brett and his team can turn the data into useful information for daily decisions on irrigation across the Inglewood vineyard.

Brett says he is always seeking efficiencies across the Inglewood vineyard as part of his task of getting the highest return possible for every dollar invested. This means keeping costs down in “tough times”, particularly when water availability has been reduced.

“You need to know where every drop of water is going,” he says.

“Its critical we can see what is happening deep underground and AquaSpy technology gives us the intelligence we need.”

Head to AquaSpy for More www.aquaspy.com

Read more articles in General News, by Press Release or from June 2009.