Greenkeeping & Turf: the root zone, measured instead of guessed
Soil moisture, root-zone temperature and salinity per zone, weather on site, and an irrigation plan that follows the readings. baiond shows the greenkeeper turf stress early, often before the grass does.
- Soil moisture 22.4% VWC
- Target 20–25%
- Soil temp. 10 cm 18.2°C
What goes wrong quietly.
Watering by habit
The cycle runs every night at 04:00 because it always has. Nobody knows which pitch was still at 28 % from yesterday's rain and which one was already dry at noon.
Disease found after the damage
Heat stress, salt build-up and fungus start in the root zone, days before the surface shows a patch. By then the tournament is on Saturday and the patch is in the penalty area.
Costs without a schedule
Water, fertiliser and overtime are spent on inspection rounds and manual soil samples. What the pitch actually needed that week is a guess made afterwards.
Questions you would ask on site.
Three situations from this industry, answered the way baiond answers: the readings, the reasons, a recommendation and the source. Tap one or type your own.
Checked Soil sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway How did baiond know?
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
Source: Soil sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
- Soil moisture 22.4% VWC
- Target 20–25%
- Soil temp. 10 cm 18.2°C
Yes. The subterranean moisture level is currently 22.4 % VWC and within the target range for optimal turf firmness (20–25 %). Soil temperature at 10 cm depth is 18.2 °C and salinity levels are balanced. No irrigation is required today.
Continue regular monitoring. Skip tonight's cycle on green 9 if the 15:00 reading is still above 21 %.
Would you like me to investigate further?
Looking closer. This is what the data shows:
Possible reasons- Last night's cycle delivered 4 mm; evapotranspiration today is forecast at 3.8 mm.
- Salinity is at 0.9 dS/m, well below the 1.5 dS/m stress threshold after last week's feed.
- The green has been in the target band for six consecutive days.
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
Source: Soil sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
Understood. I keep watching Green 9 · Root zone 10 cm and let you know if anything changes.
Checked Soil salinity sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway How did baiond know?
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
Source: Soil salinity sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
- Salinity (EC) 2.1dS/m
- Stress threshold 1.5dS/m
- Soil moisture 17.3%
Salt stress. Electrical conductivity in the north half has climbed to 2.1 dS/m, above the stress threshold of 1.5 dS/m, while soil moisture has dropped to 17.3 %. The roots cannot take up water against that salt load, which is why the turf pales.
Run a leaching irrigation of 12 mm on the north half tonight and hold the next feed for ten days. Re-check EC on Thursday morning.
Would you like me to investigate further?
Looking closer. This is what the data shows:
Possible reasons- The granular feed on Monday was applied at 35 g/m²; the south half got 25 g/m².
- Only 2 mm of rain since then; the north half sits on the higher, faster-draining side.
- Daytime radiation has been above 5.5 kWh/m² for five days, doubling evapotranspiration.
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
Source: Soil salinity sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
Understood. I keep watching Pitch 2 · North half and let you know if anything changes.
Checked Surface temperature sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway How did baiond know?
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
Source: Surface temperature sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
- Surface temp. -1.8°C
- Release above 1°C
- Forecast 08:00 0.4°C
Not at eight. Surface temperature on pitches 1–4 is -1.8 °C, below the release threshold of 1 °C, and the forecast for 08:00 is only 0.4 °C. Playing on frozen leaf blades breaks them; the damage shows as brown tracks for weeks.
Move the 08:00 sessions to the artificial pitch and release pitches 1, 2 and 4 from 09:30; pitch 3 after 10:00. baiond will confirm each release when the surface passes 1 °C.
Would you like me to investigate further?
Looking closer. This is what the data shows:
Possible reasons- Clear sky overnight: the surface radiated 4 °C below the air temperature.
- Pitch 3 lies in the shadow of the clubhouse until 09:20 and thaws last.
- Soil at 10 cm is still 3.1 °C, so the frost is in the leaf, not the root zone.
The sensor reports to the baiond Gateway, the Space System puts the reading in context (location, threshold, history), and the AI agent turns it into an answer.
- Sensor
- baiond Gateway
- Space System
- AI agent
Source: Surface temperature sensors · Weather station · baiond Gateway
Understood. I keep watching Training pitches 1–4 · Surface and let you know if anything changes.
Answers are generated by AI, may contain mistakes and use example values. Please don’t enter personal data. Privacy
Where the sensors sit.
Every dot is a sensor family in its typical place. Select one to see what it measures and what baiond does with it.
baiond connects the soil sensors in your greens, pitches and fairways with the weather station and the irrigation controller on one platform. Each zone reports moisture, temperature and salinity at root depth continuously, baiond adds rainfall, radiation and wind to estimate evapotranspiration, and the irrigation and fertiliser plan follows the zone instead of the calendar. Ask whether a pitch is ready, and the answer comes with the readings, the reasons and what to do.
-
-
-
-
-
The same site, run differently.
Every pitch gets the 04:00 cycle, wet or dry.
Run times per zone from tonight's moisture and tomorrow's forecast.
A fungus patch found on Friday, tournament on Saturday.
Rising salinity and root-zone temperature flagged ten days earlier.
Soil samples by hand, results next week.
Moisture, temperature and EC per zone on the phone, updated at regular intervals.
Water use justified from the invoice.
Litres per pitch and month next to the readings that called for them.
Proof
-
Wiener Sport-Club
Turf, noise, air in the dressing rooms, visitor flows, power and water on one platform: how the new Wiener Sport-Club stadium in Vienna-Hernals runs with baiond.
In use at and in partnership with
Your industry guide
One PDF for your industry: the questions baiond answers there, the sensors that measure it and what changes on site.
What managers ask before they start.
What exactly do the soil sensors measure?
Volumetric water content, temperature and electrical conductivity (salinity) at root depth, typically 10 cm. Together they show whether the turf can take up water, whether fertiliser salts are building up and whether the root zone is warm enough to grow.
Does baiond replace my irrigation controller?
No. It feeds it. baiond calculates run times per zone and hands them to your controller through the gateway; you decide whether that happens automatically or after you confirm.
Can it warn me about disease before I see it?
It warns you about the conditions that precede it: root-zone temperature and humidity in the range where fungus develops, salinity climbing after fertilising, moisture staying high in shaded zones. The greenkeeper still makes the call, but days earlier.
We run twelve municipal pitches. Does one platform cover them all?
Yes. The Space System organises sites, pitches and zones in one tree. You compare all twelve on one screen, set thresholds per pitch and route alerts to the crew responsible for it.
How are the sensors installed and powered?
They are buried below mowing depth and run on long-life batteries; readings travel by LoRaWAN to the baiond Gateway. No cables across the pitch, no interruption of play.
Related industries
Same sensors, same questions, a different floor.
-
-
-
Ready to give your data a voice?
Thirty minutes with the baiond team about your site and your questions. No slides.
Request a consultation