Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research
Project Number: 2032-13220-002-031-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 1, 2025
End Date: Apr 30, 2026
Objective:
1. Monitor evapotranspiration dynamics in early-variety and late-variety table vineyards using eddy covariance.
2. Evaluate and improve the accuracy of satellite-based evapotranspiration (ET) products for table grape vineyards.
3. Develop an irrigation decision-support tool for table grape growers based on satellite-derived ET estimates.
Approach:
This work will expand on continuous ET monitoring efforts established in April 2024 at a table grape vineyard (Vitis vinifera L., cv. Flame Seedless) near Madera, California. In addition to the existing experimental site, the team will coordinate with grower cooperators to identify and establish a second site in a late-variety vineyard near Madera using a mobile flux tower. Concurrent monitoring in early-variety and late-variety vineyards will provide valuable insights into how ET, productivity, and water use efficiency vary with changes in the timing of fruit maturity and harvest. The accuracy of satellite-derived ET estimates will be evaluated by comparing model output against ground observations. The team will work with grower cooperators to develop a satellite-based ET toolkit to inform irrigation management in table grape vineyards.