Importance

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Abstract

Crops for human and animal consumption of many types are well known by their respective growers. Years of experience in the field provide the grower knowledge about a range of conditions that lead to the full spectrum of crop yields and crop quality, and each grower creates a store of knowledge which they can combine with the available measures of those conditions. This disclosure provides a method for indicating the onset of water stress in one or more plants located in a soil the roots of which are within the measurement zone of a soil moisture sensor located in the soil, by determining if there was no recorded water into soil event in the prior 24 hour period of a respective one 24 hour period; determining from representative data whether there are two respective 24 hour periods of the prior seven consecutive 24 hour periods also have evapotranspiration values within a predetermined range; determining from representative data the rate of soil moisture depletion during the plant moisture uptake period within each respective 24 hour period adjusted for drainage; determining whether the rate of soil moisture depletion during the plant moisture uptake period within each respective 24 hour period reduces by a pre-determined level compared to the other of the respective 24 hour period; and indicating the most recent of the respective two 24 hour periods as a period of water stress of the one or more plants.

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First Claim