Published October 10, 2024
How technology and data transform irrigation practices
Water is an invaluable resource everywhere, however, in California, it is of a particular purpose, serving the nearly 40 million residents as well as fueling the state’s strong agriculture industry.
And it’s this strong need for responsible water use that has helped connect agriculture irrigation with emerging technology offerings.
In this “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode, James Nichols, a third-generation pistachio grower and president of HotSpot Ag, shares how data and innovative technology can help deploy water where it’s most needed.
Nichols, whose family has been growing in the San Joaquin Valley since the 1980s, said the state’s Mediterranean climate helps create an optimal place for the more than 450 crops grown there. He said growers in the state get a bad reputation for overusing water, and that’s just not the case.
“Most growers under-irrigate as there are negative consequences for over-irrigation from a plant health and production standpoint,” he said. “There’s fairly large and negative consequences for over-irrigation from a plant health and production standpoint.
View the full episode in the video player above or access it here
