Abstract:
A method for determining an amount of moisture that has entered a section of soil via irrigation, includes sensing at a first moment in time a total amount of moisture in a sub-section of the section of soil, and in response to the amount sensed at the first moment in time, determining a total amount of moisture, W initial , in the section of soil at the first moment in time. Sensing at a second, subsequent moment in time a total amount of moisture in a sub-section of the section of soil, and in response to the amount sensed at the second moment in time, determining a total amount of moisture, W tot , in the section of soil at the second moment in time. Then, comparing the two W initial  and W tot  by, for example, subtracting W initial  from W tot . The method also includes determining an amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil during a period between the first and second moments in time via natural precipitation, and determining an amount of moisture that has left the section of soil during the period between the first and second moments in time. Then, adding to the comparison of the two W initial  and W tot  the determined amount of moisture that has left the section of soil, and subtracting from this amount the determined amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/445,400 filed 22 Feb. 2011, and titled “Probe Schedule Systems and Related Methods”, presently pending, which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Cultivating crops, such as grains, vegetables, fruits and grasses, for future sale requires careful attention to the amount of radiation from the sun and the amount of moisture, such as liquid water, that the crops receive. The crops receive moisture through a variety of mechanisms. For example, most crops can access moisture from the air in humid environments and from the soil when moisture is held in the soil. Because, cultivators can more easily exercise control over the conditions in the soil, most cultivators modify the amount of moisture that their crops receive by modifying the amount of water held in the soil. 
         [0003]    Because crops receive moisture held in the soil via their roots, the section of the soil that cultivators monitor and manage is the section of soil in which the crop&#39;s roots are disposed—the root zone. The area and depth of a crop&#39;s root zone depends on the specific crop, its age and the current season. For example, the root zone of a mature tree in spring is typically fifteen feet by eighteen feet across, and three feet deep. During the summer, the root zone of the tree might expand an inch or two across by another inch or two deep. The root zone of broccoli is typically two feet across by eight inches deep, when mature and in summer. 
         [0004]    The amount of moisture held in the root zone of a crop at any specific moment in time depends on many different factors existing in a period immediately preceding the specific moment in time. In general these factors include the composition of the soil (clay holds much moisture, whereas sand holds little), the weather that the soil is exposed to during the preceding period (for example rain, sun, air temperature, air humidity) and the crop&#39;s consumption of moisture during the preceding period (which includes the moisture that the crop retains and the moisture that the crop transpires). In general, the amount of moisture at any specific moment in the soil&#39;s root zone that promotes efficient growth of the crop ranges between 70% and 100% of the root zone&#39;s total capacity. To determine the amount of moisture held in a crop&#39;s root zone, a cultivator subtracts the amount of moisture that the crop consumes during the period from the amount of moisture that enters the root zone during the period, then the cultivator adds this net amount to the amount of moisture held by the root zone at the beginning of the period. This calculated amount represents the amount of moisture held in the root zone of the soil at the end of the period, and may be used as the amount of moisture in the root zone at the beginning of another period. 
         [0005]    Because it&#39;s typically more convenient for the cultivator to add moisture to the crop&#39;s root zone, the cultivator monitors the amount of moisture in the root zone and manages this amount by adding moisture via irrigation when the cultivator determines that moisture needs to be added to the section of soil that includes the crop&#39;s root zone. To prevent excessive irrigation and thus wasting moisture that the cultivator could use for other crops or that another cultivator could use for their crops, the cultivator monitors the amount of moisture added via irrigation and its effect on the section of soil that includes the crop&#39;s root zone. To monitor the amount of moisture added via irrigation, the cultivator tracks the duration and the flow rate of the irrigation. To monitor the amount of moisture held by a section of soil, the cultivator typically uses a moisture probe disposed in the root zone. 
         [0006]    Current, accurate moisture probes measure the amount of moisture in a section of soil by generating high energy neutrons, emitting these neutrons into the soil, and then sensing low energy neutrons in the soil. Because high energy neutrons lose energy when they collide with hydrogen, which moisture has, the concentration of low energy neutrons correlates to the amount of moisture in the soil. Such moisture probes are very expensive to purchase and require calibration. Thus, many cultivators use a few moisture probes and assume that the amount of moisture sensed in one section of the soil will be very similar to the amount of moisture sensed in neighboring sections of the soil. 
         [0007]    Unfortunately, tracking the duration and flow rate of an irrigation event can be time consuming for cultivators. Thus, many cultivators hire a person to physically monitor the irrigation event. The cost for such a person can be more than the cultivator can easily afford, so many cultivator&#39;s add this tracking responsibility to the responsibilities of another employee. Because tracking the duration and flow rate of an irrigation event is time consuming, many employees responsible for this don&#39;t thoroughly monitor the irrigation event. Thus, the calculation of the total amount of moisture added to the crop&#39;s root zone may not be accurate, and thus the determined amount of moisture held by the section of soil that includes the root zone may not be accurate. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    In an aspect of the invention, a method for determining an amount of moisture that has entered a section of soil via irrigation, includes sensing at a first moment in time a total amount of moisture in a sub-section of the section of soil, and in response to the amount sensed at the first moment in time, determining a total amount of moisture, W initial , in the section of soil at the first moment in time. Sensing at a second, subsequent moment in time a total amount of moisture in a sub-section of the section of soil, and in response to the amount sensed at the second moment in time, determining a total amount of moisture, W tot , in the section of soil at the second moment in time. Then, comparing the two W initial  and W tot  by, for example, subtracting W initial  from W tot . The method also includes determining an amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil during a period between the first and second moments in time via natural precipitation, and determining an amount of moisture that has left the section of soil during the period between the first and second moments in time. Then, adding to the comparison of the two, W initial  and W tot , the determined amount of moisture that has left the section of soil, and subtracting from this amount the determined amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil. 
         [0009]    By determining, in this manner, an amount of moisture that has entered a section of soil via irrigation, the person in charge of irrigating one&#39;s crops does not have to keep track and report the amount of moisture provided during irrigation and the duration of the irrigation. Thus, the person in charge of irrigating one&#39;s crops only needs to ensure that the irrigation is started and finished as desired. If something happens during the irrigation, such as the amount of moisture provided to the crops increases or decreases, the method will discover this and can alert the person in charge of irrigating the crops to adjust the next irrigation&#39;s duration, amount of moisture provided, or both, to compensate for the previous irrigation event. 
         [0010]    In another aspect of the invention, a storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to determine an amount of moisture that has entered a section of soil via irrigation, the determination performed by the computer includes: 1) determining a total amount of moisture, W initial , in the section of soil at the first moment in time, 2) determining a total amount of moisture, W tot , in the section of soil at a second moment in time, 3) comparing the two, determined total amounts of moisture in the section of soil, 4) determining an amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil during a period between the first and second moments in time via natural precipitation, 5) determining an amount of moisture that has left the section of soil during the period between the first and second moments in time, 6) adding to the comparison of the two, W initial  and W tot , the determined amount of moisture that has left the section of soil, and 7) subtracting the determined amount of moisture that has entered the section of soil from the comparison of the two, W initial  and W tot , and the addition of the total amount of moisture leaving the section of soil. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a plot of land used to grow crops. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a process for monitoring moisture added to a section of soil during a period, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of a system for monitoring moisture added to a section of soil during a period, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a plot of land  10  used to grow crops  12  and  14 , and illustrates how moisture (here water in liquid form) enters a section of soil  16  or  18  that includes a crop&#39;s root zone  20  or  22 , respectively. Here, the crops shown are apple trees  12  and broccoli  14 , but the crops grown may be any desired crop, such as carrots or other root vegetables, walnuts or any other desired nuts, grapes or any other desired fruit, wheat or any other desired grains, and green beans or any other desired legumes. Furthermore, the process for monitoring moisture added to a section of soil during a period as discussed in greater detail in conjunction with  FIG. 2  may be used to help grow other plants such as grass for an athletic field, and magnolia trees, roses or any other desired plants. 
         [0015]    The amount of moisture, W tot , held in each of the root zones  20  and  22  at a moment, t m , in time depends on the amount of moisture, W in , entering each of the root zones  20  and  22  during a period, t 1-m , preceding the moment t m , the amount of moisture, W out , leaving each of the root zones  20  and  22  during a period, t 1-m , preceding the moment t m , and the amount of moisture, W initial , held in each of the root zones  20  and  22  at the beginning, t 1 , of the period t 1-m . 
         [0000]        W   tot (at  t   m )= W   initial (at  t   1 )+ W   in (during  t   1-m )− W   out (during  t   1-m )
 
         [0016]    The amount of moisture, W initial , held in each of the root zones  20  and  22  at t 1  may be determined in any desired manner that provides an accurate amount of moisture. For example, the amount, W initial , may be determined by sensing, with a moisture probe  24 , the amount of moisture in a respective sub-section of each of the root zones  20  and  22 , and then extrapolating the results from each sub-section to the respective whole root zones  20  and  22 . The amount, W initial , may also be determined by using the equation above for a period preceding the moment in time, t 1 , that is the beginning of the period t 1-m . The amount, W initial , may also be determined by using a combination of the equation above with the moisture probe  24 . For example, both the equation and the moisture probe  24  may be used to determine the amount, W initial , by comparing the results from each process and then combining the results to determine the W initial  that will be used in the above equation to determine the amount of moisture, W tot , held in each of the root zones  20  and  22  at a moment, t m . 
         [0017]    Moisture, W in , may enter each of the root zones  20  and  22  via rain  26 , cultivator-supplied irrigation  28  and/or via absorption from a source of moisture (not shown), such as a water table, below the root zones  20  and  22 . When moisture, W in , enters via rain  26  and/or cultivator-supplied irrigation  28 , the amount of moisture that is absorbed by each of the root zones  20  and  22  is usually a percentage of the amount of moisture that falls from a cloud  30  in the case of rain  26 , or that is emitted from a sprinkler  32  in the case of cultivator-supplied irrigation  28 . This is because some of the moisture  33  that falls from a cloud  30  or that is emitted from a sprinkler  32  evaporates into the atmosphere before the respective root zones  20  and  22  can absorb it from their surface. The percentage may also result from some of the moisture running off the surface of the respective root zones  20  and  22  as a stream  34  or river. This often occurs when a large amount of rain falls within a short period. In such a situation, the soil of the respective root zones  20  and  22  cannot absorb the large amount of water lying on their respective surfaces before the water forms the stream  34 . Runoff can also occur when the sprinkler  32  has been emitting water toward the same sub-section for too long. In such a situation the soil of the respective root zones  20  and  22  becomes saturated with moisture and thus cannot absorb any additional moisture laying on their respective surfaces before the water forms a stream (not shown). 
         [0018]    Moisture, W out , may leave each of the root zones  20  and  22  via crop consumption, which includes transpiration, and/or desorption toward a source of moisture (not shown), such as a water table, below the root zones  20  and  22 . Transpiration is the evaporation of moisture from a crop&#39;s leaves. The apple trees  12  and the broccoli  14  consume moisture from the soil of their respective root zones  20  and  22  by absorbing moisture through their respective roots. Some of the absorbed moisture is used by the apple tree to grow and produce fruit or by the broccoli to grow and flower, and some of the absorbed moisture is held in the leaves of the apple tree or broccoli for release into the atmosphere via transpiration. Desorption can occur when the amount of moisture held by the section of soil that includes the root zones  20  and  22  is greater than the available moisture holding capacity of soil below the respective root zones  20  and  22 . When this occurs and there is nothing in the respective root zones  20  and  22  to prevent the movement of the moisture toward the soil below the respective root zones  20  and  22 , some of the moisture will leave the respective root zones  20  and  22  for the soil below. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a process for monitoring moisture added to a section of soil during a period, according to an embodiment of the invention. The process may be used to determine the contribution of cultivator-supplied irrigation to the total amount of moisture that enters the section of soil during the period. The process includes: a) determining, at a step  40 , an amount of moisture, W initial , in a section of soil at the beginning of a period, t 1 ; b) determining, at a step  42 , an amount of moisture, W in , entering the section of soil during the period, t 1-m , via natural precipitation; c) determining, at a step  44 , an amount of moisture, W out , leaving the section of soil during the period t 1-m ; d) determining, at a step  46 , an amount of moisture, W tot , at the end of the period t m ; e) determining, at a step  48 , whether or not a cultivator-supplied irrigation event has occurred during the period t 1-m ; and f) if yes, calculating, at step  50 , the effect of the cultivator-supplied irrigation event on the section of soil. 
         [0020]    By determining, in this manner, an amount of moisture that has entered a section of soil via cultivator-supplied irrigation, the person responsible for irrigating one&#39;s crops does not have to keep track and report the amount of moisture provided during irrigation and the duration of the irrigation. Thus, the person only needs to ensure that the irrigation is started and finished as desired. If something happens during the irrigation, such as the amount of moisture provided to the crops increases or decreases, the process can discover this and alert one to adjust the next irrigation&#39;s duration, amount of moisture provided, or both, to compensate for the previous irrigation event. 
         [0021]    Determining W initial  may be performed in any desired manner that provides an accurate amount for W initial . For example, in this and other embodiment, W initial  is determined by sensing the amount of moisture in a sub-section of the soil&#39;s section with a moisture probe  24  ( FIG. 1 ). The probe  24  measures the amount of moisture in a section of soil by generating high energy neutrons, emitting these neutrons into the soil, and then sensing low energy neutrons in the soil. Because high energy neutrons lose energy when they collide with hydrogen, which moisture has, the concentration of low energy neutrons sensed by the probe correlates to the amount of moisture in the soil. After determining the amount of moisture in the sub-section, the cultivator can extrapolate this amount to the whole section of soil. 
         [0022]    Determining W in  entering the section of soil during the period t 1-m  via natural precipitation may be performed in any desired manner that provides an accurate amount for W in . For example, in this and other embodiments W in  via natural precipitation is determined by multiplying the amount of precipitation that falls during the period t 1-m  by an efficiency factor, R. The amount of precipitation that falls is obtained from a local weather report, but may also be obtained by the cultivator by measuring the amount of precipitation that falls into a bucket located with the crops. 
         [0023]    The efficiency factor R is a measure of the sprinkler design and to a lesser extent the respective root zones&#39;  20  and  22  ( FIG. 1 ) rate of absorbing the precipitation from the respective root zone&#39;s surface. Thus the efficiency factor R depends on the type of soil included in the respective root zones  20  and  22 , the contour of the surface of the respective root zones  20  and  22 , and the capacity of the respective root zones to hold additional moisture. Sand can absorb moisture quickly but can hold little of it, so a root zone that is predominantly sand will absorb much of the precipitation that falls onto it. Alternatively, clay absorbs moisture slowly but can hold much of it, so a root zone that is predominantly clay will lose much of the precipitation that falls onto it via evaporation and runoff, but will retain much of the precipitation that it does absorb for a long period. The efficiency factor R is obtained empirically and usually ranges between 0.1 and 0.7. In this and other embodiments of the process, the efficiency factor R is determined empirically from the plot of land  10  that the crops grow on. Thus, over time, the efficiency factor R can become very accurate for the respective root zones  20  and  22 . 
         [0024]    Determining W out  leaving the section of soil during the period t 1-m  may be performed in any desired manner that provides an accurate amount for W out . For example, in this and other embodiments W out  is determined by multiplying a reference evaporation-transpiration number, E to , by a crop coefficient factor, C. The E to  may be obtained from a local weather report and represents the amount of moisture that would have been transpired by cut grass, such as the grass found in many lawns, under the weather conditions during the previous period, usually  24  hours. Thus, the E to  provides an easy mechanism for accounting for the affects that the local weather conditions, such as air temperature, air humidity, solar radiation intensity and wind, have on the loss of moisture from the respective root zones  20  and  22  via transpiration. The crop coefficient factor C reflects a respective specific crop&#39;s transpiration relative to the transpiration of cut grass, and thus allows the cultivator/grower to determine the amount of moisture that a specific crop transpires from the E to  that is obtained from a local weather report. 
         [0025]    The crop coefficient C typically ranges between 0.01 and 1.2 depending on the specific crop, and for each specific crop, C typically changes depending on the season. For example, C for Alfalfa is typically 0.6 during winter and 0.96 during summer or the peak growing season. C for a young apple tree is typically 0.10 during winter and 0.25 during summer. C for a mature apple tree is typically 0.10 during winter and 0.50 during summer. The crop coefficient C is obtained empirically and in this and other embodiments of the process, C is determined empirically from the plot of land  10  that the specific crops grow on. Thus, over time, the crop coefficient C can become very accurate for the specific crop grown from the respective root zones  20  and  22 . 
         [0026]    The period t 1-m  may be any desired duration of time. For example in this and other embodiments, the period t 1-m  is 24 hours because the E to  obtained from a local weather report is typically based on the 24 hours immediately preceding the report. If an E to  based on a different period can be obtained, then the period t 1-m  may match the period that the E to  is based on. In other embodiments, the period t 1-m  may be shorter in duration than the period that the E t0  is based on. For example, the cultivator may select a period that more closely corresponds with the period of a cultivator-supplied irrigation event to increase the accuracy of the calculation of the irrigation&#39;s affect on the respective root zones  20  and  22 . In such embodiments, the cultivator may modify the E to  that is based on a 24 hour period to more accurately reflect the amount of moisture transpired during the period of the irrigation event. 
         [0027]    Determining W tot  may be performed in any desired manner that provides an accurate amount for W tot . For example, in this and other embodiment, W tot  is determined by sensing the amount of moisture in a sub-section of the soil&#39;s section with a moisture probe  24  ( FIG. 1 ). After determining the amount of moisture in the sub-section, the cultivator can extrapolate this amount to the whole section of soil. 
         [0028]    Determining whether or not a cultivator-supplied irrigation event has occurred during the period t 1-m , may be performed in any desired manner. For example, in this and other embodiments, this determination is made by adding W in  to W out  and then subtracting this from W initial . If this calculated amount of moisture is less than W tot , then an irrigation event has occurred during the period t 1-m . If, however, this calculated amount is more than or equal to W tot , then an irrigation event likely has not occurred during the period t 1-m . 
         [0029]    If an irrigation event has occurred, then at step  50 , the effect of the cultivator-supplied irrigation event on the section of soil may be analyzed. For example, in this and other embodiments an amount of moisture, W irr , added to the respective root zones  20  and  22  may be determined, and then from this a future cultivator-supplied irrigation event may be accordingly modified. W irr  may be determined as previously discussed. Once this amount is determined, the cultivator can then determine the amount of moisture spent during the irrigation event by dividing W irr  by an irrigation efficiency factor, H. H ranges from 1.0, which represents a drip line buried in the respective root zones  20  and  22 , to 0.15, which represents a Rain Bird® impact sprinkler mounted above the tree canopy. The irrigation efficiency factor H is obtained empirically, and in this and other embodiments of the process, H is determined empirically from the plot of land  10  that the specific crops grow on. Thus, over time, the irrigation efficiency factor H can become very accurate for the specific crop grown from the respective root zones  20  and  22  at a specific time of day during a specific season. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of a system  60  for monitoring moisture added to a section of soil during a period, according to an embodiment of the invention. The system  60  includes a station  62 , not located with the cultivator, that communicates via a communication network  64  with the cultivator&#39;s components  66  located with the cultivator, such as the moisture probe  24  ( FIG. 1 ), and a weather station  68  located near the plot of land  10  ( FIG. 1 ) to obtain information for determining the various pieces of information needed to monitor moisture added to a section of the plot  10 . In other embodiments of the system, the station  62  may be located with the cultivator. This can occur if the cultivator purchases the data files and application program disposed on storage media such as a floppy disc, compact disc, magnetic tape, or removable hard drive, that allow the cultivator&#39;s personal computer to monitor moisture added to a section of soil during a period. 
         [0031]    The station  62  includes a database  70  of information that includes the three coefficients and historical data. The station  62  also includes electronic circuitry (not shown) having a processor (also not shown) that can execute instructions included in a software program, and a program (also not shown) that when executed by the processor causes the station  62  to monitor moisture added to a section of soil during a period. 
         [0032]    The electronic circuitry, processor and software program may be any desired circuitry, processor and software program that allows the station  62  to monitor moisture added to a section of soil during a period. For example, in this and other embodiments, the station  62  includes a conventional personal computer  72  whose operating system software can be any desired system software such as Windows XP, Windows 7, OS X (Mac), or Linux, that can support the hardware and software used by the program to monitor moisture added to a section of soil during a period. In other embodiments, the station  62  may include a mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, or Android. The electronic circuitry includes conventional circuitry and related hardware for receiving input from a user, executing instructions of the program, and conveying output to a technician and/or the cultivator. The station  62  also includes a communications device  74  that can be any desired modem that can support any desired networking protocol. For example, the modem and corresponding software can support TCP/IP networking protocol used to communicate via the Internet or the modem and corresponding software can support other networking protocols such as Ethernet local area network protocol or conventional wireless network protocols. 
         [0033]    In other embodiments of the station  62 , the station  62  includes a web server (not shown) to facilitate the transfer of information between the station  62  and the cultivator&#39;s components located with the cultivator and a weather station local to the plot of land  10  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the web server can include Windows NT as operating system software and an active server pages module (ASP.NET). 
         [0034]    The preceding discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.