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and the time taken to evaluate crop water use and integrate other information, e.g., weather conditions during the past few days and in the immediate future ( Lea-Cox, 2012 ). Many sensor technologies have been developed and used over the years to aid

Automation can improve irrigation efficiency, but automation needs both hardware and software to do so. Many soil-moisture-sensor-based systems use hardware to measure and track substrate moisture levels and specialized software to display data

high-quality plants, conserving both water and fertilizer. Capacitance substrate moisture sensors have been successfully used to monitor and control drip irrigation based on target θ thresholds for containerized plants grown in greenhouses ( Burnett and

preference. In many commercial greenhouse operations, irrigation scheduling is typically based on the experience of the grower by “lifting and touching,” using qualitative, rather than quantitative, information such as using scientific sensors to monitor the

irrigation systems, but also on easy-to-use decision tools that help the farmer monitor and automate irrigation scheduling. Why do horticultural crops require different irrigation strategies as compared with agronomic crops? Wireless sensor networks have been

bulky and require routine maintenance. Growers must refill microtensiometers frequently, and they are easily dislodged from the substrate, which breaks capillarity and results in faulty readings. Other soil moisture sensors have been either too expensive

For automated weather stations, recommendations and minimum standards exist for proper shielding of temperature sensors to minimize errors that arise from solar radiation striking the sensor ( ASAE, 2004 ; Hubbard et al., 2001 ; WMO, 2006

based on soil water tension has been used for decades (see Shock and Wang, 2011 ), whereas the use of soil or substrate θ has become more feasible in recent years with the advent of low-cost sensors (e.g., Nemali and van Iersel, 2006 ). Nemali and van

substrate supply, another issue for this sustainable production is to implement efficient irrigation to reduce water and nutrient requirements. Recently developed sensor technology enables the irrigation of plants based on their actual water needs, which can

Wireless sensor networks ( Fig. 1 ) are an important tool for monitoring crops and controlling irrigation ( Angelopoulos et al., 2011 ; Bauerle et al., 2013 ; Coates et al., 2012 ; Lea-Cox, 2012 ). A common issue with today’s WSN systems is being