More yield from every tree — with less water
The wireless precision dendrometer lets your fruit trees tell you exactly when they need water. So you decide on data, not on gut feeling.
The reality on a fruit farm
Water is becoming more expensive and scarcer, and the rules around it are tightening. At the same time, dry summers and heatwaves are the new normal. So you have to produce a better harvest with less water — year after year.
The tricky part: a tree only shows water stress once it is already too late. By the time you see wilting or fruit drop, the tree has already lost yield and quality. As a result, irrigation stays largely guesswork:
- Too little water → smaller fruit, lower grade, yield loss.
- Too much water → fruit cracking, higher disease pressure and wasted water and money.
- Wrong timing → missed growth in exactly the phase that counts.
And every wrong decision costs you twice: on input and on harvest.
Smarter irrigation: the opportunity you are leaving on the table
What if you could "hear" your trees before the first visible stress? Then irrigation turns from guesswork into an informed decision.
Growers who monitor their trees continuously already achieve:
- The same yield with about 30% less water.
- Larger and more uniform fruit, by adjusting at exactly the right moment.
- Less loss, by catching cracking, drought stress and disease early.
- A future-proof business, ready for stricter water rules and drier summers.
The difference is not more work, but better information.
What your trees tell you about water stress and growth
A precision dendrometer measures micro-changes in the trunk diameter — movements you would never spot with the naked eye. From these you read two things:
Water stress, before the symptoms
When the trunk shrinks, the tree is thirsty — often days before the leaves show it.
Growth, phase by phase
The growth curve shows which growth phase the tree is in, so you align pruning, thinning, fertilisation and irrigation with it.
No lab, no estimates. Simply what the tree is doing right now — monitored wirelessly across all your plots.
For stone fruit (plum, cherry, nectarine, apricot)
Stone fruit follows a double-sigmoid growth curve with one especially sensitive moment: pit hardening. Too much water in that phase increases the risk of cracked fruit; too little water costs size.
With continuous trunk monitoring you see that phase coming and adjust water exactly on time — for larger, sounder fruit.
For apple and pear
Not sure whether trunk monitoring is for pome fruit? The gains lie in timing and in early signals:
- Irrigate exactly when needed — not too much (disease pressure), not too little (size loss).
- Catch heat, drought or root stress before it becomes visible.
- Track the vitality of your trees across multiple seasons and steer your orchard.
Not an experiment, but proven practice
Fruit growers worldwide already steer their irrigation on trunk data:
- Washington (USA): apple growers integrate dendrometers into their irrigation management for healthier trees and better quality.
- California (USA): almond growers measure micro-variations in the trunk to assess water stress accurately.
- Research (Applied Horticultural Research): dendrometers measure growth, ripeness and stress levels accurately — and help determine the optimal harvest time.
"Thanks to adaptive irrigation, we achieve the same yield with about 30% less water."
What it delivers for you
- More yield and better quality per hectare.
- Less water use and lower costs.
- Early warning for stress, frost or heat.
- Decisions based on data — across all your plots, monitored wirelessly.
Ready to grow on data instead of gut feeling?
Request your quote or demo without obligation. Together we look at what a precision dendrometer can mean for your plots.
Request your quote or demo or call +32 (0)53 36 30 21
Frequently asked questions
What is a precision dendrometer?
A sensor that continuously measures the trunk diameter of a tree. From tiny shrinkage and growth you derive water stress and growth phase — often days before you see anything with the naked eye.
Is the system wireless?
Yes. The measuring points are wireless, so you spread them easily across your plots and follow everything online.
Which fruit types is it suitable for?
For stone fruit (plum, cherry, nectarine, apricot) and pome fruit (apple, pear), each with insights that fit that crop.
How quickly will I see results?
You see stress and growth patterns from the very first measurements. The biggest return comes from monitoring and adjusting across a full season.
What do I need to get started?
We take care of the sensors, the monitoring and the guidance. You just request a quote or demo.