THE TECHNOLOGY OF REMOTE DETERMINATION OF SOIL MOISTURE IN DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND COMPARISON WITH THE CLASSICAL METHOD

This scientific piece of work shows findings from tests of the technology designed for remote determination of the soil moisture in the use of drip irrigation system in Samarkand region. The average annual rainfall of the research area is 370 mm, the area is 240 000 m2. The site where the technology was subject for tests, is located 634 m above the sea level in Payariq district of Samarkand region 40°00’43.97’’ 66°54’51.35. The area was divided into 12 smaller sites, humidity measuring sensors were installed in each of the sites and GSM modules were used for their communication. To ensure efficiency and accuracy of the results, we would check the data collected by each sensor once every 2 days by thermostats, using a classical method. A graph and a table of maximum sensor mutual distances were developed based on the humidity levels measured in the classical way as well as applying the humidity difference in the sensors. The main difference between the conducted scientific work and practical experiments is that monitoring of the moisture levels was carried out at 3 different depths of the soil and in layers of the light-, medium- and heavy loams. As a matter of fact, currently, such technologies are highly demanded as the area of lands in the drip irrigation system covers in average 15-20 hectares, and the soil moisture is important for determining the irrigation intervals and time. However, it is not always possible, time-wise, to determine the soil samples using the classic-, thermostat- or head drying methods. This article will review the methods applied for determining the two types of soil and their accuracy levels.