Doc Number: ARA2023-00004 Rev A Date: March 30, 2023
Release Overview
The Arable Web 9.7.0 release is introducing a new cross-sites view of the water balance of your fields with a breakdown into its components (evapotranspiration, precipitation data and irrigation). A new ability to track and record irrigation events is part of this upgrade as well as to set a deficit irrigation schedule per growth stages.
The Water Insights feature also offers a view of the field's soil moisture level including available water content that can be mapped to field capacity, permanent wilting point and refill thresholds. A new depth of interest selection option is added here.
Water Insights is available for both Mark 2 & Mark 3 users as an add-on subscription and is using GEMs pressure switches and Sentek soil probes in the field. Contact your Sales Representative or Customer Success to get started.
We hope you will enjoy this new release. We always welcome feedback through Customer Success (support@arable.com) or via your account manager.
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Date |
March 30, 2023 |
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Instance affected |
Production |
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Hostnames |
arable.arable.com |
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Browsers |
Chrome 111, Edge 111, Safari 16.3, iPad 15/16 |
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Type of Release |
Minor Release |
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Version |
9.7.0 |
List of Changes
New Features
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Description |
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Water Insights Single Site View: Deep dive into a site's water usage and demand combining tabular and graphical data. Displays are across daily, weekly, monthly and growth stage time scales. Accessible under individual Site views on a new tab called Water. Key metrics: Water balance, Irrigation to replace ETc, Replacement ETc, Soil Moisture, and Heat Stress. Configuration Completeness For all measurements to populate an account must have the following preset parameters:
Components: 1. Water Summary Header: A calculation of the precipitation plus irrigation minus crop evapotranspiration over the duration selected. Irrigation to Replace ETc The irrigation system runtime needed to meet the defined Replacement ETc. The Replacement ET % is set in the Arable Web Water page, Water Balance visual. It will default to 100% if a Growth Stage is defined for the measurement period and otherwise it will be 0%. This value will only populate if a flow rate for a Gems Pressure Switch has been configured. Soil Moisture The proximity to the refill point set in the soil moisture graph. This equals the mean soil moisture for the measurement period (as a percentage of field capacity) minus the refill threshold. This will appear blank if no soil probe is attached or if the soil moisture measurement has not been configured in the soil moisture graph below. Total Heat Stress Hours The total number of daylight hours during which the air temperature is above the GDD max temperature threshold for the crop at the site since the start of the current season. If the GDD max temperature threshold is not defined for the crop in the system, then a default of 96°F is used. 2. Water Details Table A breakdown of the measurements contributing to water insights for the site and season, as defined below. The default summary shows at-a-glance water, soil, and heat measurements; clicking on the drop-down menu will show more detailed water balance, soil, and heat stress measurements. The first row in the chart shows a 7-day forecast including today; the next row shows measurements from earlier today and the past 6 days; subsequent rows show prior weeks chronologically. Summary Water Balance Change The change from previous to current value of water balance for the measurement period. Soil Moisture The average soil moisture across all depths and Mark deployments associated with the site for the measurement period, presented as a percentage of available water content (field capacity - permanent wilting point). It is required to set the field capacity and the permanent wilting point in order for the soil moisture graph to be initialized and as such display soil moisture readings. Total Heat Stress Hours Total heat stress hours up to and including the end of the measurement period. Water Balance Water Balance Change The change from initial to last value of water balance for the measurement period. Replacement ETc The amount of water needed to apply to meet the defined Replacement ETc. This value can be set in the Arable Web Water page, Water Balance visual. It will default to 100% if a Growth Stage is defined for the measurement period and otherwise it will be 0%. Precipitation The amount of rainfall on the site for the measurement period. If multiple Mark deployments were associated with the site for the same period, the rainfall measurements are averaged. Irrigation The irrigation application depth for the measurement period, calculated as the pressure switch flow rate times the irrigation runtime divided by the site area. If multiple pressure switches are associated with a site, the amount is a sum total. Heat Stress Heat Stress Hours The accumulated number of daylight hours during which the air temperature is above the GDD max temperature threshold for the crop at the site for the period selected. If the GDD max temperature threshold is not defined for the crop in the system, then a default of 96°F is used.. Total Heat Stress Hours The total number of daylight hours during which the air temperature is above the GDD max temperature threshold for the crop at the site during the period selected. If the GDD max temperature threshold is not defined for the crop in the system, then a default of 96°F is used. . Soil Moisture Soil Moisture Change The mean soil moisture in the measurement period minus the mean soil moisture in the previous period. Proximity to Refill Threshold The mean soil moisture for the measurement period (as a percentage of field capacity) minus the refill threshold. . 3. Water Balance Visual Scale The y-axis is showing the water balance in inches or mm based on your Account Settings. The x-axis defaults to the weekly changes for each measurement. This can be changed to daily, monthly, or growth stage intervals on the Water Details table. Precipitation The amount of rainfall at the site for the x-axis measurement period. If multiple Mark locations were associated with the site for the same period, then the rainfall measurements are averaged. Irrigation The irrigation application depth at the site for the x-axis measurement period. It is calculated as the pressure switch flow rate times the irrigation runtime divided by the site area. If multiple pressure switches are associated with a site, then their contributions are summed. This graph will also include values that are input manually by clicking on the three dots in the right corner of the visual. ETc The Arable Canopy Evapotranspiration at the site for the x-axis measurement period. If multiple Marks are associated with the site, then their individual ETc values are averaged. Replacement ETc The percentage of ETc that you would like to irrigate. It can be configured by clicking on the three dots on the right hand side of this modal. For instance, in order to irrigate to replace 80% of your observed ETc you may set the value for your current growth stage at 80. Values between 0-200 are accepted. 4. Soil Moisture Visual Soil Moisture The soil probes attached use default Sentek coefficients of sandy loam soil texture. For the graph to display data, first set your site's field capacity and wilting point based on your soil's textural properties. You may also set a Refill Threshold to use as a safe threshold to irrigate above. You must enter these to define the water holding capacity from which the percentage scale is derived. Secondly, configure your depths of interest. Depending on the length of your probe, you may enter values from 10-120 cm. The selected depths will create an average which will display on the graph. Note that the depths you select will impact your field capacity, and wilting points as a given soil will have different water holding capacities at different depths. If you select multiple or all depths, you will see an average of the selected depths. The graph will then display the average soil moisture (in % AWC - Available Water Content) across all depths of interest and Marks associated with the site for the measurement period using default crop coefficients of sandy loam soil texture in this release. It is possible to edit the depths of interest and the Field Capacity (FC), Permanent Wilting Point (PWP), and Refill Threshold (RT) at any time, and the change will apply to the complete time series for the site and season. Below are steps for determining each value: Field Capacity A first value can be entered based on the general guidelines that the volumetric soil moisture content remains at Field Capacity for a given soil texture. Below is a table for values for Field Capacity at different soil textures. You will need to iterate over time to find the right settings based on monitoring the soil moisture graph during rain events or wetting events. Upon being configured, Field Capacity will denote 100% on the y-axis, and the associated Volumetric Water Content expressed in millimeters or inches will be found on the right side of the graph. The value you ultimately set for the field capacity should reflect the reading of the soil probe when your field is at 100% storage capacity for the given depths you selected. Wilting Point The Permanent Wilting Point is the water content of a soil when most plants (corn, wheat, sunflowers) growing in that soil wilt and fail to recover their turgor upon rewetting. The crop will experience severe, possibly unrecoverable, stress. The Permanent Wilting Point can be set by multiplying the Field Capacity (as identified through the Bucket Saturation Test) with the percentage value from the below table for the identified soil texture. Alternatively, a first value for Permanent Wilting Point can be entered based on the general guidelines that the volumetric soil moisture content remaining at Permanent Wilting Point is about 75 mm/m (0.9 in/ft) for sandy soils, 125 mm/m (1.5 in/ft) for loam soils, and 250 mm/m (3.0 in/ft) for clay soils and then iterate over time to find the right settings based on monitoring the soil moisture graph during rain events. The Permanent Wilting Point will then denote 0% on the y-axis and the associated Volumetric Water Content will be found on the right side. Refill Threshold Enter the Refill Threshold associated to the crop-varietal if a Soil Moisture Probe is connected. The Refill Threshold is your definition of a point you don’t want to go below and as such is used to indicate the need of an irrigation event and, in the future, will trigger an Arable alert. The Refill Threshold usually has an ample buffer above the Wilting Point to avoid crop stress. It is set as a percentage of the Available Water Content (Field Capacity minus Permanent Wilting Point) and has a default value of 70%. Upon configuration, this value will be associated with the Proximity to Refill Point found elsewhere throughout the Arable Web and Mobile apps. Depth Selector Users can configure individual depths from which to read average values across the site for soil moisture. |
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Water Insights Multi-Site View: Comparative view of fleetwide water usage and demand combining tabular and graphical data. Displays are across 7 day accumulations. Accessible under Analytics->Water. Key metrics: Water balance, Irrigation to replace ETc, Last irrigation runtime, Irrigation Hours, Proximity to Refill and Heat Stress Note: the measurements of the Multi-site views will only render if the configuration completeness steps of the single-site are met first. Components Left Hand Table: Irrigation to Replace ETc The irrigation hours needed to meet the defined Replacement ETc. The Replacement ET % is set in the Arable Web Water page, Water Balance visual. It will default to 100% if a Growth Stage is defined for the measurement period and otherwise it will be 0%. This value will only populate if a flow rate for a Gems Pressure Switch has been configured for your site. Last Irrigation Runtime The date and amount when an irrigation event was last observed using data from the pressure switch or from data which was manually entered on the Water tab for that site. Proximity to Refill Threshold The distance to the soil moisture refill point for a site expressed as a percentage. This equals the mean soil moisture for the measurement period (as a percentage of field capacity) minus the refill threshold. This will appear blank if no soil probe is attached or if the soil moisture measurement has not been configured in the soil moisture graph below. This value is configured in the Water tab for each site with a soil moisture probe. Heat Stress Hours The accumulated number of daylight hours during which the air temperature is above the GDD max temperature threshold for the crop at the site for the period selected. If the GDD max temperature threshold is not defined for the crop in the system, then a default of 96°F is used. 2. Map Display of Icons and status of selected top tab measurements for each site listed. 3. Status Bar Irrigation to Replace ETc Sites that require more than 8 hours of irrigation to replace ETc are colored red. If they require between 2 to 8 hours they will be colored yellow and if they require less than 2 they are colored green. Sites that do not have pressure switches will not be included in the status bar. Manual entered irrigation events will not display here, on the map, or in the benchmark graph. Irrigation Runtime Hours For the last 7 days: If sites have received over 21 hours of irrigation they are colored dark blue. If they have received between 5 and 20 hours they are colored blue, and if they have received 4 or less hours they will be colored light blue. Sites that do not have pressure switches will not be included in the status bar. Proximity to Refill Threshold If sites are at or below the refill point they will be colored red. If they are within 10% above the refill point they will be colored yellow and if they are above 10% they will be colored green.Sites that do not have soil probes will not be included in the status bar. Heat Stress Hours: Sites that have received over 15 hours of heat stress will be colored red. Sites with between 5 and 15 hours of heat stress will be colored yellow and sites with less than 5 hours will be colored green 4. Benchmark Graph Water Balance Tab Irrigation to Replace ETc The irrigation hours needed to meet the defined Replacement ETc. The Replacement ET % is set in the Arable Web Water page, Water Balance visual. It will default to 100% if a Growth Stage is defined for the measurement period and otherwise it will be 0%. This value will only populate if a flow rate for a Gems Pressure Switch has been configured for your site. Irrigation Tab Irrigation Hours: The total number of hours that each site has been irrigated over the previous 7 days. Soil Moisture Tab Proximity to Refill The proximity to the refill point set in the soil moisture graph. This equals the mean soil moisture for the measurement period (as a percentage of field capacity) minus the refill threshold. This will appear blank if no soil probe is attached or if the soil moisture measurement has not been configured in the soil moisture graph below. Heat Stress Tab Heat Stress Hours The accumulated number of daylight hours during which the air temperature is above the GDD max temperature threshold for the crop at the site for the period selected. If the GDD max temperature threshold is not defined for the crop in the system, then a default of 96°F is used. |
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All pages in the Arable Web are now available in Portuguese. You can select language in the Account page. In the current release you would need to re-select Portuguese each time you login again to the app. |
Defect Fixes
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Description |
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The “Need Help ?” modal in the Create Site function stated that the maximum area of a site is not to exceed 10,000 square km, while it should be 10 square km. |
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When using Edit Site for any site and changing the shape of the boundary as a user one had to reload the page to get the new boundary to show up. This is now resolved and is not required any longer. |
Known Issues
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Description |
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For customers that are trying out our new Water feature on site-view, the GEMS pressure switch needs to be selected on the analog port in order to capture irrigation runtime data from the drip irrigation line. This means that there will be no wind direction provided in the user interface even if you have an anemometer connected. However, you can still validate and see wind speed data from the Bridge pulse port. |
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In the new Water views, after a Gems sensor is configured the values for the readings will display in the Multi-site View as runtimes. However, the first Irrigation amount will not be added to the Water Balance or Irrigation details measurements in the Single Site views. All irrigation events after the first event will be recorded in both the Single Site views as amounts and in the Multi Site views as runtimes. |
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For the Multi-site Views, the Last Irrigation Runtime is displaying the hours for the last irrigation event that took place. If a given day had multiple irrigated events, the display would only be of the most recent one, not the aggregation for the day. |
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For the Single Site and Multi Site views of water, the Irrigation to Replace ETc value will not populate if no Irrigation event has taken place within the previous seven days. |
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For Irrigation events, if a flow rate was improperly configured there is no way to go back and correct previous readings with a new flow rate to reflect accurate applied irrigation measurements. |
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The local Mark max/min temperature for the hour is taken as the max/min of all 5-min interval readings during that hour. Meanwhile, the current temperature is the average for the last hour, creating a discrepancy between the two values during weather alerts. We are investigating whether relying on a 5-min interval for Tmin/Tmax is vulnerable to noise, and if so, will change this algorithm. |
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Currently the NDVI measurement and graph do not show or deal with a drop due to temporary cloudy days. To circumvent any misunderstandings, users can also review the solar radiation with the two-measurement graph feature. A future enhancement to incorporate cloud cover when calculating NDVI is expected. |
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When selecting a longer time range in Graph for Daily Precipitation, then the bar for multiple days is averaged rather than summed. We plan to correct this in the next upcoming release. |
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Even for a site in which a device is in “Excluded” state, it will generate a "Delayed Data" alert for this site if more than 12 hours without sync. |
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The Site card in the Site page shows the "Create Season" option even in the case that an existing season is present. We plan to correct this in the next upcoming release. |