SubAir Systems, Soil Scout announce partnership

SubAir Sports Systems announced a partnership with wireless underground soil moisture sensor startup Soil Scout to give turf managers unprecedented control over operations and turf with automated subsurface monitoring and ventilation.

Soil Scout’s sensor transmits moisture, temperature and salinity data in real-time from up to two meters below the surface, while SubAir’s subsurface aeration and moisture removal units guarantee ideal pitch conditions, automatically adjusting the moisture levels of the turf according to live, real-time soil conditions. In a sudden downpour, the vacuum systems activate to eliminate excess moisture in the soil profile, with drainage up to 36 times faster than natural drainage alone.

This combination of cutting-edge turf technology enables turf professionals to provide pristine playing surfaces for professional teams and players.

“Working with Soil Scout has so far been one of the best partnerships we’ve ever had in the entire turf industry,” SubAir Sports Systems president Brad Dennis said. “I’m super excited to work together to provide one of the most powerful solutions on the market to help turf managers achieve their goals based on real-time data from Soil Scout’s sensors and our aeration units.”

“Turf managers expect tools to be able to do their job as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Soil Scout CEO Jalmari Talola said. “Our partnership provides the data and operational performance to ensure that ideal pitch performance requirements are met. Working with SubAir has been brilliant, and they’re true innovators in their industry — this partnership provides an unrivaled offering and we’re very excited to deploy this solution combination around the world together.”

SubAir Systems and Soil Scout have been chosen to support all eight of the stadium venues at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The devices are also currently used in numerous iconic sports venues such as Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It’s critical that our moisture levels remain in a range that allows us to keep the field hydrated enough that we can get through the day without any hotspots, but not so wet that the field is set up excessively for disease and fungal growth,” says Mike Boekholder, director of field operations at Citizens Bank Park. “Soil Scout and SubAir help us manage our way through all that in as efficient a manner as possible.

“Once the Soil Scout units report an average moisture level above our setpoint, the SubAir turns itself to vacuum mode until the moisture levels drop back below the setpoint. We can likewise adjust the SubAir unit to run on specific schedules based on temperature data, or just turn off completely if the soils get too cold.”

Soil Scout recently announced its partnership with GreenSight, a Boston-based provider of autonomous aerial intelligence services, as well as expanding its U.S. operations with an aim to accelerate its go-to-market efforts and combat the ongoing drought in California.

Backed by Husqvarna, Soil Scout was co-founded by Finnish agrotechnology and 19th-generation farmer Johannes Tiusanen and electronics expert Jussi Sirkiä with a mission of giving soil experts the information they need to effectively manage their lands.