While this has been a relatively good water year for Fresno tomato growers—most have received 85 to 90 percent of their federal water allocations—many are feeling more pressure than ever to conserve water. At the same time, in order to make ends meet, higher Brix levels and tonnage are also very important. In an effort to address these issues, Dr. Bill Gensler, a retired professor from the University of Arizona electrical engineering department, has come up with a new water sensing system for tomatoes. It is designed to enable growers to better determine how much water a plant really needs by measuring water directly from plant petioles.
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