Spectrum Technologies, Inc.

Once your canopy is fully leafed out, a midday light bar reading can tell you a lot about what harvest is going to look like.

UC ANR researchers measured canopy PAR in walnut and almond orchards and found a clear, quantifiable relationship between light interception and yield potential: 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 50 𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗯𝘀/𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 0.05 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝘀/𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗻𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 1% 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱. That relationship gives growers a way to estimate productivity from the canopy — not just guess at it.

The method is straightforward. At midday, use a LightScout light bar to measure PAR above and below the canopy. The ratio between the two gives you your light interception percentage. From there, you can benchmark against your yield records and start building a clearer picture of what's ahead.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿 — and gives you earlier visibility into whether a management change is needed this season.

Questions about how to take these measurements in your orchard? Reach out via the chat at https://na2.hubs.ly/H05J5wG0 and talk to a real person on our team.

📄 Source: Lampinen et al., UC ANR Advanced Sensing & Management Technology in Specialty Crops

Your WatchDog station is out there collecting data around the clock. But what are you doing with it?

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺'𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗹 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻.

Log in from your phone, PC, or tablet and see current conditions across all your stations at once. Overlay your field data on satellite imagery of your property. Run ET and rainfall reports to understand your crop's actual water use. Share access with your agronomist or consultant so they're looking at the same numbers you are.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 — 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿.

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Before you send the sprayer out, do you actually know what's happening in your field?

Temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction — these aren't just weather stats. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

Too windy? You're drifting.
Too hot and dry? Your chemistry volatilizes before it does its job.
Temperature inversion? Your drift problem just got a lot bigger.

A Spectrum Technologies, Inc. WatchDog weather station gives you real-time field conditions so you spray when it actually counts. Set custom alerts. Log your data. Make better calls every time.
Link in comments to explore WatchDog weather stations!