A Soil Moisture Indicator (SMI), developed by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) here, was launched today, which will help the farmers in deciding when to irrigate their fields so as to save water.

Launching the device, ICAR-SBI Director, Bakshi Ram, said that of late, depletion of water resources in agriculture was a serious cause of concern.

In most of the farmers’ fields, particularly in sugarcane fields, efficient irrigation management practices, such as irrigation-scheduling, based on soil moisture status,was rarely in practice, he said.

In an effort to save water and to facilitate irrigation-scheduling, ICAR-SBI developed a handy and user-friendly electronic moisture–indicating device, called SMI, which would help farmers in deciding when to irrigate, thus saving considerable water, he said.

The SMI technology was evolved with the active participation of farmers and sugar factory personnel across three agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu through the Farmers’ Participatory Action Research Project (FPARP).

On the mode of operation, he said that the sensor rods of SMI need to be inserted into the soil to a required depth to assess the soil moisture, which was indicated by glowing LEDs and the device was suitable for use in agricultural farms as well as in potted plants.

The institute had registered four designs of SMI, while a product patent was pending.

Bengaluru-based Tech Source Solutions, has entered into a license agreement with ICAR-SBI and started marketing this device, priced at Rs.1,200, Dr. Ram said.