TECHNOLOGY BASICS: What are Irrigated Decision Support Systems

Irrigation decision support systems (IDSS) typically combine multiple on-site or remotely sensed data inputs with telemetry and analysis in a user interface. Examples of common data types offered by these systems include but are not limited to: evapotranspiration, canopy growth (e.g., NDVI), soil moisture (volumetric water content), soil water potential, and soil temperature.

The integration and analysis of these various metrics have the potential to ensure that growers can meet the water requirements of their crops while achieving water savings and optimal yields. However, obtaining such co-benefits requires accurate data reporting, easy interpretation, farm management integration, and trust from farm management teams.

Commercially available on-site sensors used outside of an IDSS often require calibration and may not provide easy access to data in real-time. Analysis required for irrigation savings can also be time-consuming.

Several integration providers in California address these usability issues by combining sensors with proprietary telemetry and analysis. Other IDSS offer their own proprietary sensors, telemetry and analysis with the option to integrate non-proprietary sensors. For a comprehensive list of integration partners and service providers, including those not yet evaluated, see Table 2 in Jha et al., 2022 reproduced below.

(append table in file “Table for IDSS tech basics”)