Home | Overview | News | Purchasing FullStop | Your Feedback | Contact Us FullStop Logo

Using FullStop

At times we have wondered whether FullStop is telling the right story. On one very large irrigation farm the owner complained that the floats were 'always up', so it was not worth watching them. When we compared the water used to our best estimates of what the plant could use it was clear the crop was over-irrigated. As the water was cut back, the FullStops were activated less often.

In another example involving 70 growers in the same region, there was widespread concern that deeply placed detectors were not being activated. Subsequent modelling and measurement showed that the average amounts of water applied did not go nearly as deep as irrigators had thought.

When a deep FullStop was eventually activated, high concentrations of salt were measured. This showed that wetting fronts had not been passing the FullStop undetected; if water had been leaching downward it would have carried the salt away.

In both cases it took two irrigation seasons for the lessons to be understood. Changing your mental model of what is really happening takes some time. In fact it is wise to introduce change incrementally whilst carefully monitoring the performance of the crop.

For a while we were dismayed every time FullStop did not behave as we expected. It took five years for us to learn that the unexpected is just another opportunity to learn.

With experience you will be able to fine tune the depth that the detectors should be placed for your particular situation and the indicator response that gives you the best results.



arrow  Previous Page:
 THE FULLSTOP GAME
 Deep Activated Before Shallow

Top arrow

Next Page:  arrow
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 
How Sensitive Is FullStop?