An open sweet-potato field under mulch film with mountains and cherry blossom behind - the kind of open-field crop CropWatch monitors

Agriculture & greenhouse

From the root zone to the canopy - one platform.

CropWatch measures the whole growing environment: soil moisture, temperature and EC, air temperature, humidity and CO₂, plus calculated VPD, PPFD and DLI. The readings growers actually steer by - on greenhouses, fields, orchards and vineyards.

grass Soil · air · light water_drop VPD wb_sunny PPFD & DLI cloud Air CO₂

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CropWatch sensor monitoring climate and light in a commercial pepper greenhouse

Greenhouse 2 - Row 40.92 kPa VPD · 740 PPFD · live

Soil to air to light

Everything that drives growth, on one device family.

Most systems give you a single number. CropWatch captures the full stack - what the roots feel, what the canopy breathes, and the light the crop actually receives - then derives the calculated metrics growers manage by.

wb_sunny

Light

Calculated

light_mode PPFD µmol/m²/s wb_twilight DLI mol/m²/day

air

Air

Measured + derived

device_thermostat Air temperature humidity_percentage Air humidity cloud Air CO₂ water_drop VPD kPa

grass

Soil

Measured

humidity_low Soil moisture thermostat Soil temperature bolt Soil EC nutrient/salinity

Measured directly by the sensor Calculated by CropWatch from the raw readings

Why the calculated metrics matter

Temperature and humidity alone will mislead you.

The numbers that actually predict growth aren't raw readings - they're what you derive from them. Here's what VPD, PPFD and DLI tell you, and the bands to hold.

VPD

Vapor Pressure Deficit

kilopascals · kPa

The true driver of transpiration. Temperature and humidity in isolation don't tell you whether a plant can move water - VPD combines them into the single number that governs stomata, CO₂ uptake and nutrient flow. Too high and leaves lose water faster than roots resupply, so stomata close and photosynthesis stalls; too low and transpiration slows, stunting nutrient uptake and inviting mould and disease.

target Greenhouse sweet spot ≈ 0.45-1.25 kPa (~0.85 ideal)

PPFD

Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density

µmol/m²/s

How many usable light photons land on a square metre of canopy every second - the intensity that actually drives photosynthesis, not lux or watts. Too dim and growth stalls; too bright and you bleach leaves and waste energy and money. Targets are crop-specific, so CropWatch shows the live reading against the band for the crop you're growing.

target Crop-specific · lettuce 200-400 → tomato 700-1,200

DLI

Daily Light Integral

mol/m²/day

If PPFD is the rate, DLI is the dose - the total light delivered to the canopy over a full day. It's the number that predicts yield, quality and timing, and it lets you trade intensity against hours: a gentler PPFD over a longer photoperiod can reach the same DLI. Track it and you stop guessing whether the crop got enough light today.

target Most greenhouse crops ≈ 12-30 mol/m²/day

From the CropWatch app

The readings, the way your growers read them.

These are live components from the CropWatch interface - the same PPFD gauge, VPD climate matrix and temperature heatmap your team works from every day.

PPFD - canopy light intensity

Live reading against the crop's optimal band, with today's DLI.

CwPPFDChart

VPD climate matrix

Temperature × humidity, coloured by VPD. Pick a crop program to see the target band.

CwVPDChart

Humid / lowDry / high in target band

Field temperature - last 7 days

Every hour of every day, at a glance. Hover any cell for the reading.

CwHeatmap

In the field

Deployed where crops grow.

CropWatch sensor monitoring climate in a commercial pepper greenhouse — **Pepper greenhouse**Canopy VPD, CO₂ and light between rows.

CropWatch sensor mounted in a hydroponic cucumber greenhouse — **Cucumber house**Overhead climate and DLI in a hydroponic house.

CropWatch monitoring station beside an open chili pepper field — **Open chili field**Soil moisture, EC and field microclimate.

Outdoor CropWatch station monitoring an open field of chili peppers

Coverage without wires

One gateway covers the whole operation.

LoRaWAN^™ reaches up to 8 miles line-of-sight, so a single gateway can link greenhouses, fields and outbuildings on one farm - no cellular bills, no trenching cable.

check Battery life measured in years, not weeks
check Rugged IP66 enclosure for sun, rain and dust
check Dual-sensor verification & self-auditing hardware
check Swap your own sensors at season's end
check Condensation-tolerant Sensirion sensors recover even after 100 %RH nights

Plan your coverage arrow_forward

Recommended sensors

Soil + air + light, one platform

Air sensor: CW-AIR-THC (T·RH·CO₂)
Soil sensor: CW-SS-TME (moisture·temp·EC)
Calculated: VPD · PPFD · DLI
Air accuracy: ±0.4 °F (±0.2 °C) / ±1.8 %RH
CO₂ range: 400-5,000 ppm (NDIR)
Soil moisture: 0-100 % (±8 %)
Soil temp: −4 to 158 °F (−20 to 70 °C)
Soil EC: 0-3.0 mS/cm ±20 % · 3.0-8.0 ±40 %
Connectivity: LoRaWAN^™ (Class A)
Battery: Up to 5 years (replaceable)
Enclosure: IP66, UV-stable
Range: Up to 8 miles per gateway (in absolute optimal conditions)

cable Replacement sensorsSeason-to-season swaps api Public APIPull into your farm tools

Questions

Agriculture monitoring FAQ

How do you calculate VPD, PPFD and DLI? add

VPD is derived from the sensor's air temperature and relative humidity (optionally leaf temperature). PPFD and DLI are computed from the light reading and accumulated over the day. You get the raw readings and the calculated metrics on one screen - no spreadsheets.

Why measure VPD instead of just humidity? add

Relative humidity is tied to temperature, so the same RH means very different things on a cool morning and a warm afternoon. VPD captures the relationship between the two and correlates directly with transpiration - it's a proactive growing tool, not just a climate number.

Can I monitor soil and air from the same gateway? add

Yes. Air, soil and light sensors all report to one LoRaWAN^™ gateway, which covers up to 8 miles line-of-sight - enough for greenhouses, fields and outbuildings across a whole farm.

Can I change what a device measures later? add

Yes. The sensing module is user-replaceable, so the same unit can switch between air, soil and light modules - swap the module and the device recognises it and carries on. No new hardware purchase, no reconfiguration.

Ready when you are

Put data behind your next decision.

Tell us about your greenhouses and fields - we'll map the soil, air and light sensors, the gateway and the alerts to fit.

Book a demo See the sensors