Proactive Irrigation Scheduler for Almond Orchards, California
⚠ Research Tool — Use at Your Own Risk
PISA-CA is a collaborative research project in active development at UC Davis and ARO-Volcani.
It provides estimates based on satellite remote sensing and scientific models.
Results are not certified irrigation recommendations and may differ
from conditions in your specific field.
Currently tested on orchards in California and Israel.
Other regions use global datasets and have not yet been field-validated.
Irrigation scheduling is calibrated for orchards 4+ years old.
Young orchards (1–3 years) have sparse canopy and shallow roots —
this tool may overestimate their water needs. Consult your local advisor for young orchard irrigation.
By using this tool you accept full responsibility for any irrigation decisions made.
For questions, or to participate in the research project, contact:
Find and click your orchard on the map. A marker will appear at that location.
Click "Get Water Budget." The tool downloads satellite data for your location — rainfall, evaporation demand, canopy size (NDVI), and soil water-holding capacity.
Set your irrigation season using the sliders (e.g. May – October). The tool calculates how much water your trees need each month.
Review Winter Irrigation. The tool recommends how much to apply before the season to fill the soil. Adjust if you applied more or less.
Starting mid-season? If your irrigation season begins in May or later, sliders appear for each earlier month — enter how much you actually irrigated (if any) during those months. Rainfall data for those months is fetched automatically.
Read the chart. The green line shows soil water. Dark green bars are scheduled irrigation. Orange bars indicate wasted water — reduce irrigation that month to eliminate waste. Red in the soil line means your trees are stressed.
Adjust sliders to explore what-if scenarios — the chart updates instantly.
New: Sprinkler Operating Schedule
After getting your water budget, configure your Sprinkler Settings in the left panel:
Output rate — how much water your sprinklers deliver per hour (e.g. 0.04 in/hr)
Block duration — minimum run time per irrigation set (e.g. 6 hours)
The tool converts monthly water amounts into a weekly sprinkler schedule showing exactly how many hours to run each week. Sets are automatically adjusted to keep water delivery within one block of what your trees need. Switch between Monthly and Weekly views below the chart.
References:
Sperling O, Tricerri N, Orozco J, Ellis Z, Gardi I, Secchi F, Zwieniecki MA (2025) Integration of seasonal rainfall and irrigation into a water management plan for almond orchards. Agric. Water Manag. 319:109743
Sinclair TR, Holbrook NM, Zwieniecki MA (2005) Daily transpiration rates of woody species on drying soil. Tree Physiology 25:1469–1472