Soil analysis probe – Integrated Irrigation, BushLinx
The BushLinx soil probe measures moisture content, temperature and salinity for both irrigated and dryland agriculture.
Benefits
BushLinx provides information about the soil profile which:
- identifies long and short-term trends to improve yields and save time
- helps to decide when to conserve water
- informs timings of fertiliser and chemical application.
Bushlinx online dashboard for soil temperature
How it works
The probes come in lengths of 40, 80, 120, 160 cm, with sensors located every 10 cm. They analyse water availability and movement throughout the root zone.
The EnviroPro Probe is coupled with Integrated Irrigation’s BushLinx monitoring system, with data displayed on your tablet, phone or computer.
Bushlinx online dashboard for soil moisture
Installation and power
The probe is best positioned near a fence of the paddock. Avoid:
- gate access points where soil will be compacted
- trees where the soil will be drier
- points in the paddock where flooding has occurred in wet years.
A narrow trench is dug into the paddock with minimal soil disturbance to lay cables. The probe is inserted below machine till depth.
Power is supplied by a solar panel and battery.
Connectivity requirements
BushLinx data loggers are compatible with 4G CATM1 and NB-IoT networks.
Local radio solution is often able to reach areas that are outside 4G coverage. You can also use your farm Wi-Fi network to transport data.
Pricing model
A range of pricing options are available through the vendor.
Producer case study
Producer case study
Nick Radford is a beef cattle producer with some hay and fodder production, located in the lower southeast of South Australia. He has been using the Bushlinx soil moisture, salinity and temperature probes in his 9 centre pivots for the past 8 years.
Nick had used another soil moisture probe but found it to be overly complicated, lacking the support they required. He saw the value in Bushlinx as a local service provider that takes the guess work out of irrigation scheduling.
The data assists Nick to determine whether it is worth irrigating on a particular day. 'By being more efficient with our irrigation scheduling we can save money on water and the cost of diesel to run the pivot unnecessarily,' says Nick.
'The aftersales service Tim provides us has been fantastic. Tim was able to implement the crop species and soil type into our dashboard to get a more accurate representation of the optimum soil moisture. We have found the dashboard easy to navigate and cost effective. At one stage a probe was faulty, and Tim was onsite within a week to replace the probe.'
Nick is unsure on the exact figures of the potential return on investment but states the technology would have easily paid for itself in the first year with savings on water and diesel costs to run the pivots.
Nick’s advice to producers looking to install the soil probe is, 'just do it, it’s a worthy investment! Consider the support you will receive, and how user friendly the dashboard and technology is. Also the business is local'.
See it in action
To view BushLinx soil moisture and temperature probes, contact the AgTech Extension Officer at Struan and Kybybolite demonstration farm.
Contact vendor
Tim Powell – Integrated Irrigation
Email: tim@integratedirrigation.com.au
Phone: 0459 231 028
