New Agricultural Technology Gives Farmers a Glimpse of Crops Underground

New technologies are giving farmers a view of their crops they've had a hard time getting before: a glimpse underground.

Using wireless technologies, growers are able to get up-to-the-minute information on how, when, and where crops are soaking up irrigation water.

For farmers who rely on irrigation, the systems can mean big payoffs, not only in water savings but in chemicals and fertilizers, too. They can also mean stronger, healthier crops, with better harvests that can more than pay for the systems.

Using wireless technologies - the same technologies that let you make cell phone calls or connect to the Internet at a coffee shop - a growing batch of systems are linking farmers to their crops' soil.

Sensors in the ground monitor soil moisture and root activity several feet underground. They pick up where in the root zone the plants are absorbing water and beam the information, in real time, to a website where farmers can log on and monitor what their plants are doing.

The information lets farmers figure out how much to water, or not water, and how their plants are absorbing the moisture. Other wireless systems monitor weather, so farmers can keep an eye out for conditions that could lead to disease or mildew.

The advantage of it is, you can just get on the Internet and check everything, whenever you want.

When farmers know how their crops are absorbing water, they can avoid over- irrigating. That can also mean savings on fertiliser, because they're washing less away.

Better watering can mean healthier crops, too, he says, and that means farmers need fewer chemicals to fend off pests.

Farmers are often hesitant about new technology, but a little information can make a big difference in staying competitive.