The SM150T soil moisture meter allows you to record the moisture content of your playing surface, enabling you to better manage your turf moisture requirements, whilst highlighting any issues across the playing surface.
Soil water plays a critical role in turf health, as grass plants require water to survive. Their primary water source is held within the soil pore network. This makes measuring water content critical on sports turf surfaces. In addition, soil water content also directly affects surface performance.
In general terms, the higher the soil water content of a sports surface, the softer it will be. For golf, this directly affects how a ball interacts with a putting surface, both in terms of impact with the surface and then when it rolls across the green. For pitches, soil water influences both playability and susceptibility of a surface to damage during play.
Soil water content is also a controlling factor of how quickly organic matter is decomposed in the soil. Soils that are wetter for longer periods of the year, tend to be more susceptible to excessive organic matter accumulation and the formation of thatch.
The measurement of soil water content is a critical part of good greenkeeping practice and groundsmanship. Monitoring soil water content can alert turf managers to potential problems before visual symptoms become evident. It can also enable managers to assess the efficacy of turf maintenance operations.
Benefits of measuring soil moisture content
- Identifying surface softness or hardness
- Highlighting localised drainage issues
- Help to prevent drought stress
- Soil hydrophobicity
- Correcting uniformity of irrigation application
Contents of SM150T Kit
- SM150T soil moisture sensor
- HH150 moisture meter
- Carrycase