California State University

Testimonial

California State University

Fresno State

The objective for this project was to analyze how crop water requirements can vary based on different classifications. This specific project is comparing irrigation based off of soil moisture requirements vs. ET (evapotranspiration) requirements.

Olives
20 acres
Automatization and monitoring

Project Details:

20 acres of 12 year old olives
Single line drip irrigation

Pump & valve automation
Soil moisture sensors ranging from 6”- 42”
Pressure transducers to show PSI within irrigation lines

Flowmeter monitoring to help track inches of water applied
Weather Station to monitor temperature and Et0

Infiltration rates were calculated from the depths 6”-42” based on formulas specific to the crop. It was determined that the main root zone activity was as deep as 30”, anything beyond that point will show irrigation that is going past the point of water optimization.

Soil moistures at different depths were plotted to observe the change in soil moisture
Significant change in soil moisture was identified to be part of the root zone, and layers with little to no change in soil moisture were identified to be below root zone
No change or a fairly steady moisture level in any layer represents consistent water movement just by the soil itself
While soil moisture is fairly steady below 30", biggest changes are observed in shallow depths. It is estimated that average maximum active root zone depth is 30"