Beyond providing soil moisture data at a given time and soil depth, can soil moisture probes help in making future irrigation decisions? The potential of moisture probes to serve a dual role was the subject of a PotatoLink demonstration trial are discussed in this PotatoLink magazine article.

Following a PotatoLink online training webinar with senior members of the Bureau of Meteorology, Paulette Baumgartl has compiled a comprehensive article in Issue 09 of PotatoLink magazine pointing out that behind the weekly temperature and rainfall forecasts, and the much-loved radar, sits an abundance of data, both raw and interpreted. If you know where to look, this data can be a useful decision-making tool.

PotatoLink held a research and development forum in Adelaide on 5 June 2023. The seven speakers covered a range of topics including diseases, irrigation, monitoring technology and more. Below are recordings of the presentations given on the day.

Three successive La Niña seasons have left prime potato growing areas waterlogged. Challenges for growers are evident at every stage, from managing seed, planting, crop management and storage. Paulette Baumbartl covers all the key points in this article in Issue 8 of PotatoLink magazine.

Ensuring plants get the right amount of water when they need it is essential to produce a great crop. In this factsheet, Dr Jenny Ekman covers water stress, waterlogging and how to make sure your potatoes are getting the right amount of water.

PotatoLink team member Frank Mulcahy discusses historical mapping and crop conformance, redictive crop modelling, pioneering Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) on farm and results from finished 2 year project on spatial variability in potato crops.

Watch this webinar presented by Frank Mulcahy to learn how soil mapping (EM38) can assist potato growers with better yields.

Learn about using the IrriSAT technology which combines evapotranspiration (ETo) and satellite imaging, and how to link this with data from direct soil moisture sensors, to help you schedule irrigation.

This NSW case study has shown that IrriSAT satellite images, used to monitor irrigation, can also help potato growers identify soil and irrigation problems across the pivot. Fixing the problems identified in this case study would have increased yield and revenue by between $7,600 and $10,800 under this half pivot.

This case study explains how the irrigation tool, IrriSAT, combined with soil moisture monitoring, provided important information to the grower about crop water requirements and actual soil moisture levels. This enabled him to manage his crop irrigation to maximise yield and quality.