UC Riverside researchers announced on Apr. 2 the development of a new robotic system designed to help farmers address overwatering by mapping soil moisture on a tree-by-tree basis.
The initiative aims to improve water management in agriculture, especially as drought and water scarcity become more common. The technology provides detailed information about soil conditions, enabling growers to irrigate only where and when it is necessary.
Led by Elia Scudiero, associate professor of precision agriculture and Director of UC Riverside’s Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE), the project uses a robot that measures electrical conductivity throughout orchards. These measurements are combined with data from existing buried moisture sensors to create statistical models predicting water content across entire fields. “The information those sensors provide is very limited,” Scudiero said. “It really only tells you what’s happening in the immediate areas where they’re placed.” He added that using this method allows growers to know exactly how much water each tree needs: “Using this method, growers will finally know how much water they have, and how much they need, and can water specific trees if they’re dry.”
Soil texture plays an important role in how much water different parts of an orchard retain or drain away; fine soils hold more moisture while sandy soils lose it quickly. The new system helps address these differences by providing precise maps rather than relying on limited sensor locations or guesswork.
Maintaining optimal soil moisture benefits plant health while also reducing risks such as root oxygen deprivation from overwatering or nutrient runoff into groundwater supplies. According to Scudiero: “If you apply only the amount of water the plants actually need, you reduce the risk of washing those nutrients away from the roots of the crops and into the environment.” He further explained that with increasing regulations on groundwater use and rising costs, farmers must either retire orchards or find ways to grow crops using less water: “If water becomes limited, farmers have two choices… They can retire orchards, or they can find ways to produce the same crops using less water.”
Development began in 2019 through collaborations at CAFE between agricultural scientists and engineers. A patent has been filed for aspects of how their robot interacts with sensors without disrupting readings. Future work will test commercial applications beyond research plots at UC Riverside Citrus Research Center & Agricultural Experiment Station.
This effort forms part of broader precision agriculture research at UC Riverside involving robotics, sensors, and data science aimed at improving resource efficiency for farmers facing tightening constraints on available resources.
Scudiero summed up his vision for these advances: “More crop per drop!”
