Kiwifruit leaf water content detection using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite technology: Final report

The outcomes of this work revealed the spatial and temporal variability of LWC over 6 monitored kiwifruit orchard blocks during a 5-month period. The research found that Sentinel-1 and ICEYE SAR satellite data carry useful information for foliar water content mapping which can inform irrigation management and orchard management. Due to the weather and daylight independent feature of SAR, the presented approach can be further improved by better models and more input data, and it should be implemented in the near future to detect water stress and to avoid over-irrigation events.

In summary, the findings of this project, the adoption of remote sensing, IoT and geospatial technologies directly feed into the development of advanced tools for kiwifruit growers. These data-driven platforms enable orchardists to make better decisions around increasing yield, preserving freshwater resources, and reducing fruit value variability within the orchard. Ultimately, the proposed solution will help the users to tailor their precision irrigation strategies to eliminate both under and over-irrigation thereby preserving freshwater resources.