Cover story: the virtual smart irrigation experience!

This Spring, Pipeline, the Florida Irrigation Society’s official publication, featured an article about the web-based Interactive Irrigation Tool developed by Dr. Kati Migliaccio, et al.

Hosted by the UF/IFAS FAWN website, the irrigation tool allows homeowners, contractors and other stakeholders to take smart irrigation devices (soil moisture sensors or weather-based timers) for a test drive with a virtual landscape and irrigation system that users can program to fit their needs.

All images by yours truly!

Read the article (p. 20-21) here, and then take a step-by-step look at how to utilize the irrigation tool here. 

Looking forward

But who has the time to work with an irrigation tool on a desktop? Well, if that’s how you feel about it, Dr. Migliaccio is way ahead of you! 

It's raining all summer! Turn it off!

A smart irrigation mobile app is currently under development that allows for programming of irrigation system and zone parameters and also provides notifications when weather events (and/or evapotranspiration) require adjustments to the watering schedule. 

Smart, ET-based, on-site and rebate-able in Miami-Dade County!

So whether an ET-based timer or soil moisture sensor is already informing irrigation decisions for your landscape or not, smart irrigation for Florida users will soon be on-the-go! And where irrigation control device installation on a system is cost prohibitive or not possible, advancements like this app are invaluable.

Stay tuned!