The main purpose of the capacitive probe is to determine soil moisture at different depths. It consists of a long, narrow, porous ceramic cylinder that is buried in the ground. There are currently 13 probes installed in the different plots of CENTER, the data from which allow for improved irrigation efficiency. An electrical circuit is printed inside the probes that connects all the sensors responsible for measuring the moisture that permeates them in each section of the soil profile. The capacitive sensor consists of two brass rings that form the plates of a capacitor connected to an oscillator. The data can be stored in a datalogger, downloaded on site or transmitted via GSM, radio, etc. to be interpreted with software supplied by the manufacturer.
