Sensor Provides Cheap, Smart Way to Monitor How Much Water Crops Need

As water becomes an ever more precious and unpredictable resource, particularly in the Central Valley, finding ways to precisely irrigate crops is a valuable tool in the fight against climate change.

Climate shifts have triggered more frequent and more severe droughts that have reduced the amount of water available for farming in key agricultural regions. Current methods to check the water needs of crops are costly and inefficient, making it difficult to use precision irrigation techniques that can save water while maintaining or improving crop yield.

A UC Merced mechanical engineering professor has developed a sensor clip that provides fast, cost-effective monitoring of plants' water status. The project by Resa Ehsani will help growers optimize irrigation schedules without changing their existing systems.

Ehsani was recently announced as one of three inaugural recipients of the 2024 CITRIS Innovation Fellowship and AIC Awards , provided by the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute.

This project will develop a robust, reliable and portable sensor that can monitor the water status of any crop. Due to its low cost, the technology will be accessible to small and large farm operations. This advancement will increase the efficiency of water use and food production, even in the face of challenging climate conditions.

Launched in partnership with the Academic Innovation Catalyst (AIC), a funding platform founded by Matt and Lisa Sonsini, the CITRIS Innovation Fellowship turns faculty-developed research into viable commercial solutions for society's biggest challenges. Recipients receive up to $200,000 over two years to commercialize their innovations, along with support from AIC and the CITRIS Foundry incubator.

While all projects relevant to CITRIS' mission were considered, special attention was given to those in the areas of advanced aviation, aerospace, artificial intelligence (AI) for good, climate resilience and deep tech, or technology that builds on scientific innovation.

The program received more than 65 entries from across CITRIS' four campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz, with over half of the submissions addressing climate solutions or AI for the public good. The three winning proposals tackle issues of critical concern across the globe: developing climate-resilient agricultural systems, advancing crop engineering to enhance food security, and safeguarding essential infrastructure and sensitive data through breakthroughs in cybersecurity.

Read more about Ehsani's award and the other successful projects on the CITRIS website.