Advanced Multi-Depth Soil Sensors with iNut: Measure Moisture, Temperature & EC at Multiple Depths for Precision Root-Zone Irrigation
A single probe inserted into the ground reads moisture, temperature, and EC simultaneously across multiple depths (shallow roots, deep roots, drainage layer). Paired with solar-powered iNut RS485 WiFi Mesh, iNut PC Email/Telegram alerts, and real-time iNut Platform monitoring — irrigate and fertilize exactly at the root zone, save water and fertilizer, and put an end to blind watering.
Looking at the ground, everyone thinks they understand it — but plants don't live on the surface. Roots feed off an entire column of soil: the upper layer may be bone-dry while the layer below is still saturated, or the other way around. If you plant just one moisture sensor at a single depth, you're always making decisions based on one thin slice — over-watering a layer that's already saturated, or leaving the deep root zone thirsty without realizing it. Not to mention that salinity (EC) builds up by layer: keep fertilizing heavily while the deeper soil is already salt-saturated, and the fertilizer only damages the roots.
A multi-depth soil sensor solves this problem by reading the entire soil column in a single insertion. iNut turns the moisture–temperature–EC data by depth into something you can see, compare against thresholds, and act on: irrigating exactly the root layer that's thirsty, stopping once it's saturated, and alerting you when EC exceeds a safe level — all automatically, sent straight from the field to your phone.
Multi-depth measurement — the entire soil column in a single insertion
The probe body integrates multiple sensor sets placed at different depths — typically 10cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 60cm… depending on the crop configuration. Each layer returns three core readings: volumetric moisture (whether the soil is saturated or thirsty), soil temperature (affecting germination & microbial activity), and EC/salinity (nutrient concentration and residual salt). By reading layer by layer, you can clearly see how far the water has soaked in, which layer the roots are feeding from, and whether fertilizer is being leached down deep — something a single standalone sensor could never tell you.
Wireless connectivity — data comes back on its own, no cabling
Out in the field, running signal cables to every probe is a nightmare. iNut solves this with iNut RS485 combined with WiFi Mesh: each station reads the probe via Modbus RS485 and then broadcasts wirelessly, with nodes automatically relaying the signal to one another and funneling it back to a central gateway — covering the whole field without any cable infrastructure. Each station runs on a solar battery, so it comes to life the moment it's planted, with no dependence on the power grid.
Precision irrigation by root zone — the right layer, the right amount
This is where multi-depth data shows its strength. Instead of irrigating on a fixed schedule, the system watches the primary root layer: when moisture there hits the dry threshold, iNut automatically opens the irrigation valve and tracks how the water soaks down; once the right depth is sufficiently moist, it shuts off immediately — preventing water from overflowing into the drainage layer and washing fertilizer away with it. Irrigation thresholds and safe EC limits are set once per crop; relay/valve control runs fully automatically based on those thresholds.
Edge & alerts — iNut PC watches the soil for you
At the edge layer, iNut PC collects data from the probes, runs logic locally, and pushes alerts via Email/Telegram the moment something's off: a root layer staying dry too long, EC exceeding the safe level (risk of root burn from excess fertilizer/salt), abnormal soil temperature, or a station losing signal. Thanks to the 4G uplink, alerts reach you even when the field only has mobile signal — no need to sit watching a screen.
Real-time monitoring — dashboard & app in your hand
All data flows into iNut Platform — a self-hosted cloud platform with a SCADA-style dashboard: moisture/temperature/EC curves for each layer are plotted over time, points can be compared against each other, and you can view soak trends and EC changes across each irrigation/fertilization cycle. On the iNut app, you can monitor and adjust thresholds remotely; if you need more data for reports or season-long traceability, iNut Datalogger stores long-term history, while iNut OPC (OPC UA/Modbus/XML-DA) lets you integrate soil data into your existing SCADA/management systems.
Field deployment — rugged, powered by the sun
From rice paddies, fruit orchards, and greenhouses to riverside monitoring stations, iNut devices are built to live outdoors for the long haul: sealed, moisture-proof enclosures, powered by solar batteries, transmitting data wirelessly. Install the probe once, calibrate the thresholds for your crop, and let the whole system run itself — growers only open the app when they need to.
// Quick specs
Moisture · temperature · EC at multiple depths
RS485 / Modbus · OPC UA
WiFi Mesh · 4G uplink
Irrigation · fertigation by root-layer thresholds
Email · Telegram · real-time
Solar battery · outdoor-rated
What do you gain from multi-depth soil reading?
Know exactly which layer is thirsty so you can deliver water to the right depth, without over-watering the surface or leaving deep layers parched.
Cut off irrigation once it's sufficient, preventing fertilizer from washing down into the drainage layer — reducing costs and nutrient leaching.
Track EC by layer to catch salt buildup early, preventing root burn and plant decline from over-fertilizing.
A history of moisture–temperature–EC by layer helps optimize irrigation/fertigation schedules and gives transparent, traceable records season after season.
Plants speak through their roots — we just need to listen to the whole soil column
Water, fertilizer, and soil remain the same; what changes is that we stop guessing at the surface and start reading the soil layer by layer, in real time. When every watering tells you exactly where the water went, and every feeding tells you exactly which layer the salt is building up in, caring for plants becomes as precise as a measurement — repeatable and transparent.
Multi-depth soil sensors with iNut don't replace a skilled grower — they give them eyes that see straight down into the earth, something growers could only ever guess at for generations.
Beneath the soil you're standing on right now, which layer are the roots thirsting in — the one the naked eye can never see?