When they first came on the market, conventional landscape irrigation controllers were a marvelous innovation. Automated watering meant you could set the controller and plants would have plenty of water when they needed it . . .

It wasn’t so very long ago that the water situation in many states had reached crisis proportions, resulting in the implementation of some of the toughest watering restrictions that had ever been seen.

IN 1966, A PROFESSIONAL plant pathologist named Walter Cordua created a brand new type of irrigation system for farmers to use to better water their crops.

It was only a few decades ago that central control systems were expensive and unnervingly complicated.

THE BASEBALL FIELD AT ROCKFORD High School in Rockford, Minnesota, had been a wasteland for years. The ground was cracked and dry, the surrounding area was practically devoid of grass, and what little grass existed was as shriveled as old husk.

Of all industries, the green industry used to seem the least likely to be swamped by the trend towards mass high tech. And yet with the increasing adoption of smart irrigation controllers, computerized routing schedules, remote-controlled mowers and computerized timekeeping services, to name only a few, the green industry is moving irreversibly into higher tech pastures.

"An up-to-date contractor has to have battery-operated controllers in his arsenal,” says Randy Symonds, electronic product manager for Peoria, Illinois-based L.R. Nelson.

The idea of linking several irrigation controllers over a large site to operate from a single location has long been an appealing one. What better way to monitor and manage a 100-plus acre site?

Imagine that you’re going to visit an aging relative who lives in a lushly landscaped retirement community. But wouldn’t you know it, you’ve managed to hit the day of the big lawn bowling tournament. You watch Aunt Emmie step up with her ball, get ready to make the winning throw, and then—the sprinklers come on.

Of all yard care tasks, watering is the most misunderstood. Overwatering is probably one of the largest issues we face in the industry, says Phil Burkart...