Research and plant faculty from the Center for Irrigation Technology at Fresno State have created an online pistachio predictor to assist San Joaquin Valley growers in predicting harvest yields for one of the area’s most popular crops.
The free http://pistachio.azurewebsites.net website will help growers with their harvest, market and budget planning.
To get a predicted yield, website users are asked to enter several chill portion seasonal totals from a link to their orchard’s nearest or representative CIMIS station, the previous year’s per acre yield, and if the predicted year is a normally higher or lower year in its naturally alternating cycle.
The dynamic model’s chill portion units are based on time and temperatures that the orchard experiences in its dormant stages from early October through mid-March. More emphasis is placed on temperatures in the 35 to 55 degree range but the model accounts for temperature fluctuations as well.
http://pistachio.azurewebsites.net