A farmer's work is never done. In cherries, post harvest management of stress is critical for ensuring a quality crop the following season. Future productivity and yields potential are affected by how growers are maintaining growth and keeping the trees healthy after harvest is done. The main goal should be maximizing the tree's growth potential and avoiding yield-affecting stress. Although trees' water demand is relatively low compared to previous stages, post harvest is not necessarily the time to cut irrigation. Let the tree's real-time water demand dictate how much you should irrigate. Follow the trunk' growth and MDS (Maximum Daily Shrinkage) rates to see the tree's immediate response to your irrigation. No need for guesswork. A steady climb in the growth graph and no-stress status means the tree is on its course towards a bright future of optimal production. Keep a close eye on the recommended amount of irrigation and let Phytech be your navigation system, in terms of timing, quantity and duration of water delivery. The following screenshots illustrate how growers changed their water delivery according to real-time data from the tree - MDS and growth rate.In the first example we can see that after a week of keeping a steady growth with no stress and just green status, the trees entered a yellow status, which was indicated also by a large MDS. water demand was high. Grower immediately responded with irrigation and the plant status changed back to green while MDS was reduced.

How to take-off Phytech's trunk sensors (dendrometers) before harvest and how to reinstall them

Saving unnecessary irrigation operational costs and precious water is a key part of achieving optimized business performance for our Midwest growers. Of course, this "saving mindset" can't come at the expense of plants' productivity. The last 3 weeks, which brought periodic rain showers in many parts of Kansas and Nebraska, are a good example of how Phytech enables our customers to save costs while optimizing yields. With clear visibility of their plants' status, their actual irrigation, and Phytech's recommendation, growers had the confidence to reduce irrigation drastically while making sure their plants are not entering yield-affecting stress conditions. This can be seen in the following screenshots showing a significantly low irrigation/corn water usage ratio, with zero stress days during that period. Summer rain is a blessing for the Midwest growers and with Phytech's giving them clear visibility of their plants' status and water demand - growers are ready to leverage it.

Here is a quick look on Phytech's new pressure and stress maps added to the plant app 1) On the 7-day display: Review the stress level for each day, in each block. Easily switch between days by tapping each day 1. Swipe right to see the water pressure map and pressure values for each day 2. Tap the ‘time period picker’ on the bottom right corner and choose a 5 weeks display. 3. Switch between weeks to review each week’s pressure summary. 4. Swipe left to see a weekly summary of stress days, based on the following index: 1 red plant status day equals 1 stress day. 1 orange plant status day equals 0.5 stress day. 5. Switch to a monthly format. Just tap the ‘time period picker’ again to choose a 6 months display. 6. Switch between varieties to view their specific stress and pressure maps. 7. That’s it for now. The world’s leading growers have switched to plant-based farming. Join them

Learn how Phytech solution works for avocado growers, helping them to optimize yields, while saving water. Get a complete overview of the benefits of our service, what separates it from other methods and how to use our app and harness the power of Plant-based Farming

In the Washington area, apple growers have begun adjusting their irrigation practices to achieve their fruit's desired size at the end of the season. But trying to control a biological process with so many uncontrolled variables (variety, soil, weather, specific block characteristics) by manipulating irrigation is a challenge. Over the years growers have developed tactics for achieving their size goal based on past experience, the season's timing, climate conditions and of course examining closely their fruits.  Some of them start this complex process 2 months prior to harvest. Imagine throwing a basketball from half court when the lights are out and the ball changes in diameter. But it's a whole different ball game when our customers see in real-time, on their mobile, their apples size via our fruit sensors and can compare it to Phytech's target curve (generated from the desired fruit size). The picture is completed with direct data both from the tree (growth rate/MDS/water demand) and the irrigation system (pressure).  Measure.Track. irrigate.  Now, instead of flying blind, it's more like a video game, where you aim your shot with a trajectory and can adjust the ball movement while in the air. Let's see how it's done: At the beginning of the season, the grower sets his target fruit size and the system produces a target curve. During the season, our fruit sensors measure fruit size in real-time. That information is translated into the orange trajectory curve - the actual path the "fruit" takes on its way to the final destination. By presenting these 2 curves on one screen our fruit growers get clear visibility in real-time of what needs to be done to get the fruit back on the track. Fruit is too big and above the target curve? It's time to switch to regulated deficit irrigation, creating mild-to-moderate stress that will slow the tree growth - and its fruits. Fruit is too small? growers can apply more water to avoid stress conditions and help boost fruit size.   A fruit size radar But how do growers calculate just how much to over/under irrigate to navigate their fruit back on track? At this point, the irrigation system's pressure feedback comes in handy, as growers can easily observe the effect of their actual water delivery on the fruit's trajectory. The final piece of data that helps generate a clear "fruit size radar" comes from the tree. The trunk growth and MDS (Maximum Daily Shrinkage) graphs give grower instant feedback on how the tree reacts to the change in irrigation. Plant status is another visual layer to help growers understand the effect of their irrigation and maintain the delicate balance between achieving their desired fruit size while keeping the tree healthy. It's especially important when applying deficit irrigation as cutting water supply might harm the tree and affect its future productivity. Check out the video for real-life examples of how customers are using the system

Veraison is one of the most exciting moments in grapes season and a critical phase affecting the quality of the harvest. It's a tipping point in the vines' lifecycle, when energy is pushed from the roots and stored in the grapes as sugar and other nutrients. Prior, grapes are small and have low amounts of sugar while post-veraison some varieties will increase by 50% in size, with nearly a quarter of the grape consisting of sugar. As a result, acidity decreases, grapes are becoming sweeter, and their colors become darker. To help optimize this "sugar rush" process, growers who up until now were applying regular irrigation to avoid stress and keep a positive growth rate of the vines will switch to regulated deficit irrigation. The result: growth slows down, and more energy is transported to the grapes and stored as sugar. Timing is everything. Identifying the start of Veraison and reducing irrigation accordingly becomes critical. Sure, it would have been great if vines could text their growers "just started Veraison". and in some sense, it's a sound metaphor to what happens as our trunk-sensors translate the vines' hidden internal processes (contractions, trunk growth, water demand) into a visual language. Growers don't just get data readings, they are reading the story of their vines and can know when the "veraison chapter" begins. As they say, a good graphic tells the story. In the following example, high MDS on July 15th was the signal for the grower to switch to "veraison mode" followed by deficit irrigation/controlled stress tactics to reduce vines' growth and maximize grapes' sugar level. It is also worth mentioning that by carefully following the growth/MDS graphs and plant status growers are able to avoid severe stress (red status) and negative growth which might harm the vines' health and future productivity.

A new feature to help our customers better understand their trees' health by measuring their growth against a benchmark based on millions of the same trees

"𝗪𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝘀. 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹. We're able to save water but more importantly, we're giving the tree what it needs when it needs it", Thank you Antony Yousefian and Bardsley England for the trust and for sharing our passion to drive farming forward #agtech #digitalfarming #plantbasedfarming #smartirrigation #futurefarming