Question 1

Does FloraPulse work with Almond?

Accepted Answer

Excellent. Recommended for commercial use. Sensor data matches the pressure chamber, but can read 1-3 bars wetter during the spring. Thoroughly validated and used commercially.

Question 2

Does FloraPulse work with Apple?

Accepted Answer

Excellent. Recommended for commercial use. Sensor data matches the pressure chamber. Thoroughly validated and used commercially.

Question 3

Does FloraPulse work with Apricot?

Accepted Answer

Untested, but sensors generally work well in stone fruits.

Question 4

Does FloraPulse work with Ash?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for early experimental use. Researchers tested sensors in Ash with reasonable results, but had issues with the sensor installation depth. In ring-porous species, the sensor must be installed in the outtermost xylem for best results.

Question 5

Does FloraPulse work with Avocado?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for very early experimental use only. Normal sensor installation usually gets flooded and reads zero. Heading cut installation is being tested to solve this issue, and the results look promising. The validation continues. We will announce when avocado is ready for external testing.

Question 6

Does FloraPulse work with Beech?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing showed two sensors installed into same tree measured SWP and agreed with each other. More testing needed. Potential issues seen where sensors break after 2-3 months installed. We’re looking into this further.

Question 7

Does FloraPulse work with Birch (Betula pendula)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing shows reasonable looking data.

Question 8

Does FloraPulse work with Blueberry?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing of small probes shows consistently good data that matches the pressure chamber trend. Still under testing.

Question 9

Does FloraPulse work with Cacao?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. New small 7mm sensors give good reasonable data, but our testing is limited.

Question 10

Does FloraPulse work with Cannabis?

Accepted Answer

Small probes installed shallowly give reasonable data and agree with each other, at least for a few weeks. Our one dataset does show the sensors began to diverge after a few weeks (may be fixed by reinstalling the sensor). Recommended for experimental use.

Question 11

Does FloraPulse work with Cedar?

Accepted Answer

Untested.

Question 12

Does FloraPulse work with Cherry?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and commercial use. Guidelines are still missing, so irrigation should follow sensor trend and grower experience. Good results seen in research and commercial orchards.

Question 13

Does FloraPulse work with Citrus (general)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use only. Testing in citrus has shown mixed results with the BIG probes, but the new probe installation appears to work well. Try it out!

Question 14

Does FloraPulse work with Coffee?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use, and initial commercial testing. Initial results are very promising, data is consistent, and correlates well with the pressure chamber, though the measurements are somewhat different. We are exploring the reasons for this discrepancy.

Question 15

Does FloraPulse work with Corn?

Accepted Answer

Small probes installed shallowly give reasonable data and agree with each other. Recommended for experimental use.

Question 16

Does FloraPulse work with Cotton?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use and initial commercial field trials. Sensor measurements fit the pressure bomb very well, but some variability seen across years.

Question 17

Does FloraPulse work with Cypress?

Accepted Answer

Untested.

Question 18

Does FloraPulse work with Dates?

Accepted Answer

Potential for use in experiments if you can develop an new installation method. The default installation is challenging and only gives good data for 1-2 weeks.

Question 19

Does FloraPulse work with Eucalyptus?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Good results seen in Corymbia citriodora.

Question 20

Does FloraPulse work with Fig?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and commercial field trials. Sensor measurements fit the pressure bomb very well.

Question 21

Does FloraPulse work with Fir (Douglas Fir)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial trials showed good data. Not validated against the pressure chamber.

Question 22

Does FloraPulse work with Geraldton Wax?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing with 7mm probes looks great.

Question 23

Does FloraPulse work with Grape (Wine & Table)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and commercial use. Sensor readings generally correlate well against the pressure chamber.

Question 24

Does FloraPulse work with Grapefruit?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing with 7mm probes looks good.

Question 25

Does FloraPulse work with Hazelnut?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing showed good correlation with the pressure chamber.

Question 26

Does FloraPulse work with Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing of 9mm sensors looks excellent. See reference.

Question 27

Does FloraPulse work with Jujube?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial agricultural use. Initial testing of 7mm sensors looks good, trend is reasonable.

Question 28

Does FloraPulse work with Kiwi?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial agricultural use. Initial testing with 7mm sensors showed mostly good results and decent correlation with the pressure chamber.

Question 29

Does FloraPulse work with Lemon?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing with 7mm probes looks good!

Question 30

Does FloraPulse work with Lime?

Accepted Answer

Untested. Will probably work similarly to other citrus fruits.

Question 31

Does FloraPulse work with Lychee/Longan?

Accepted Answer

Untested.

Question 32

Does FloraPulse work with Macadamia?

Accepted Answer

Untested. We are looking for a partner to test the new 7mm sensors in macadamia. Contact us!

Question 33

Does FloraPulse work with Mandarin?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial grower use. One commercial tester, with the BIG probes, stated he “was happy with the data. Although he noted there was a fixed offset when compared to bomb measurements, the correlation made sense”. We expect the new 7mm probes will give even better results. Sensors tested by researchers displayed good correlation with pressure bomb data.

Question 34

Does FloraPulse work with Mango?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial commercial use. Sensor testing by commercial grower was successful and met customer expectations. Correlation against the pressure bomb has not been tested, and irrigation thresholds are undeveloped. Recommend irrigating according to the sensor trend and past experience.

Question 35

Does FloraPulse work with Maple?

Accepted Answer

Not tested. It is possible that sensors may flood due to well-known sweet maple sap. Heading cut type install could give good data in this species.

Question 36

Does FloraPulse work with Oak?

Accepted Answer

Likely poor. Initial testing showed that sensors worked well for about 10 days, then the reading got stuck at zero SWP. The tree’s wounding response likely floods the sensor site, or closes the wound. It might be possible to get data for longer time periods if the sensors are re-installed, but it’s likely to be a hassle. Research is needed on this tree’s wounding response and ways to avoid it.

Question 37

Does FloraPulse work with Olive?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and commercial use. Favorable comparison with the pressure chamber.

Question 38

Does FloraPulse work with Orange?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Initial testing with 7mm sensors looks promising.

Question 39

Does FloraPulse work with Peach/Nectarine?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial commercial use. Initial testing showed favorable results, but more testing needed.

Question 40

Does FloraPulse work with Pear?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and commercial use. Favorable comparison with the pressure chamber.

Question 41

Does FloraPulse work with Pecan?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for very early experimental use. Normal installations get flooded due to excessive sap production at the installation site. Heading cut install seems to give at least decent data, but more validation/testing is needed. We’ll keep testing and announce when we’re ready for commercial testing.

Question 42

Does FloraPulse work with Pepper (Bell)?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental and initial commercial use. First season field trial showed good correlation with the pressure chamber.

Question 43

Does FloraPulse work with Persimmon?

Accepted Answer

Not recommended. Black oozing from sensor wound prevents measurement. It’s possible that our new 7mm probes will work better, but this needs to be tested.

Question 44

Does FloraPulse work with Pine?

Accepted Answer

Initial testing shows sensor can work well. Initial trials showed good data. Validated against the pressure chamber.

Question 45

Does FloraPulse work with Pistachio?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for experimental use. Field trials show good agreement between the sensor and pressure chamber. Sensors sometimes randomly get flooded and proceed to measure zero SWP. Reinstalling the sensor will usually fix this. We are testing to better understand what causes this wounding response and how to prevent it.

Question 46

Does FloraPulse work with Pomegranate?

Accepted Answer

Untested. We are looking for a testing partner in California! Contact us.

Question 47

Does FloraPulse work with Pomelo?

Accepted Answer

Untested. Likely similar result to other citrus crops.

Question 48

Does FloraPulse work with Prune/Plum?

Accepted Answer

Excellent. Recommended for commercial use. Sensor data generally matches the pressure chamber. Thoroughly validated and used commercially.

Question 49

Does FloraPulse work with Redwood?

Accepted Answer

Very good. Initial testing shows strong sensor-sensor agreement and consistent diurnals. Recommended for experimental use.

Question 50

Does FloraPulse work with Soil?

Accepted Answer

Microtensiometer sensors not recommended for use in soil. The existing installation method does not translate well to soil installation and would give inaccurate data. Furthermore, the sensor resolution of ~0.2 bars is too coarse for most soil applications, where the full range is often 0 – 1 bar. It’s likely possible to use microtensiometers to measure WP in very dry soils, but the installation method needs development.

Question 51

Does FloraPulse work with Soybean?

Accepted Answer

Untested.

Question 52

Does FloraPulse work with Spruce?

Accepted Answer

Poor overall performance due to wounding response. Not recommended.

Question 53

Does FloraPulse work with Tobacco?

Accepted Answer

Initial trial started.

Question 54

Does FloraPulse work with Tomato?

Accepted Answer

Small probes installed shallowly give reasonable data and agree with each other. Recommended for experimental use.

Question 55

Does FloraPulse work with Walnut?

Accepted Answer

Recommended for early experimental testing. Normal sensor installations get flooded after a few days and measure zero SWP indefinitely. The new heading cut install appears promising and gives reasonable results about 60% of the time. We continue field trial on this crop with UC Davis.

Does FloraPulse work with your crop?