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38 WINES&VINES March 2015 WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/RandDGlass S U P P O R T R E S E A R C H & W I N E I N D U S T R Y N E E D S T H R O U G H T H E AMERICAN VINEYARD FOUNDATION AMERICAN VINEYARD FOUNDATION Finding Solutions Through Research P.O. Box 5779, Napa, CA., 94581 • T: (707) 252-6911 • Visit our web site at www.avf.org for information on funding and current research projects For a wealth of useful viticulture and enology research and information, visit AVF.org, ngwi.org, ngr.ucdavis.org, asev.org, or iv.ucdavis.edu For a wealth of useful viticulture and enology research and information, visit AVF.org, ngwi.org, ngr.ucdavis.org, asev.org, or iv.ucdavis.edu PRODUCT FOCUS Matric Potential/ Tensiometers HORTAU Hortau uses sensors to determine soil water tension by employing a proprietary method the com- pany claims is the most accurate on the mar- ket. The sensors send data wirelessly to a central weather station that uploads an entire set of data to the company's cloud-based ir- rigation management system. hortau.com The Wines & Vines Product Focus feature is not intended to provide a definitive listing of all available products in a particular segment or provide any comparative analysis, but rather serve as an overview of what's new or available and also of potential interest to readers as determined by the magazine's editorial staff. it's kind of like a backup check," Storm said. Rather than relying solely on moisture sensors, Storm said Vino Farms is planning to ac- quire sensors by Tule that mea- sure evapotranspiration. He said this information is used with d a t a o n c a n o p y a n d t e n d r i l length collected by field scouts and soil moisture content to as- sess vineyard water status and make any decisions about irriga- tion each week. For a smaller company, or a grower managing about 100 acres, Storm said ideal coverage would be one or two soil moisture sensors placed in different soil profiles or to cover variations in vine vigor and two to three Tule units. One could argue that the best moisture sensor in a vineyard is the vine itself. But having more accurate and timely data pro- vided by either an elaborate sen- s o r n e t w o r k o r j u s t a f e w t e n s i o m e t e r s w o u l d a t l e a s t make irrigation more efficient, and saving water makes eco- nomic sense in both an El Niño year and a drought year. DECAGON Decagon claims MPS-6, its calibrated water potential sen- sor, does not require recalibra- tion once in place. The sensor is not affected by soil salinity, and it measures soil tempera- ture as well. The MPS-6 can be used with Decagon's Em50 logger or other loggers via a SDI-12 connection. The com- pany also produces several volumetric sensors such as the 5TE, which measures mois- ture content, conductivity and temperature. decagon.com IRROMETER Irrometer produces tensiom- eters as well as Watermark- brand sensors. The "R" model tensiometer is the company's base model, and it displays tension on a gauge. The Water- mark sensor is a solid-state sensor that has a range of 0-200 centibar and is housed in a stainless-steel enclosure that includes gypsum to pro- vide buffering against normal amounts of soil salinity. Water- mark also produces a meter for reading the sensor. irrometer.com