Giumarra Reedley activates PureSense Soil Moisture Monitoring Systems and realizes immediate benefits

FRESNO, Calif., June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- One month after installing PureSense to manage irrigation for 80 acres of stone fruit trees, Giumarra Reedley, a division of the Giumarra Companies, is seeing promising results. Since PureSense's Field Monitoring Stations were installed, the orchard's root zone is already at least 12 inches deeper and trees are showing 8 to 14 inches of unexpected new growth.

"In past growing seasons, we have not achieved the crop yields that we know we can. From the results we have seen so far, we believe that effective irrigation management from PureSense will help us increase our crop size and fruit quality so that we can achieve our yield targets and increase profitability," says Jim Krause, Special Projects and Quality Control Advisor for Giumarra Reedley.

It is results like these that have prompted Giumarra to enter into a strategic alliance with PureSense, who it now advocates to its growers as the preferred provider of soil moisture monitoring. PureSense allows Giumarra Reedley growers to precisely manage both water and nutrient amounts. As a result, longer, less frequent irrigation sets have replaced shorter, more frequent ones.

"With PureSense, we see exactly where the water is penetrating in the root zone," says Krause. "That helps us determine timing of irrigations and fertigation."

Research shows that too much, too little, or mistimed irrigation can reduce crop yield. Over-irrigation can also decrease plant resistance to disease. PureSense eliminates guesswork by providing real time soil moisture and climate data from a grower's field, orchard, or vineyard every 15 minutes. The PureSense solution includes:

• A mini field computer that stores and relays data to PureSense servers
• A weather station that records the in/out of canopy temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, rainfall totals and solar radiation for evapotranspiration (ETo)
• Soil-monitoring probes that continuously document soil moisture, temperature, and salinity down to 60 inches

Giumarra Reedley growers can continuously manage irrigation to keep fields in the ideal moisture zone between wilt and saturation points. Easy-to-use software on their smart phones or laptops allows them to remotely assess real-time field conditions and schedule irrigations accordingly. PureSense offers across-the-board support, as well as customized alerts for conditions such as frost, heat, and wind that enable growers to make fast decisions based on in-field conditions.

The Giumarra Companies and PureSense have formed a strategic alliance, in which PureSense is the preferred irrigation management technology for Giumarra's growers. The alliance fits into the services package Giumarra offers its growers as part of its sustainability and quality initiatives.

About PureSense
PureSense (www.PureSense.com) is the premier real-time irrigation intelligence company providing remote monitoring, control and decision support tools to the agricultural industry. Since 2006, PureSense has provided useful, innovative technology and unparalleled service and support to over 300 growers who grow over 50 crop types across 10 states. PureSense has also recently expanded operations into Mexico and partnered with top-notch resellers like Irrigation-Mart (www.irrigation-mart.com) and Laserman Inc. (www.lasermanca.com), to expand their business. PureSense delivers upon its customer promise by empowering growers to make better irrigation decisions that enhance crop yield, crop health and cost reduction. In addition, PureSense soil moisture and water pump monitoring enable growers to leap forward in efforts to achieve resource sustainability goals.

About the Giumarra Companies
The Giumarra Companies is a leading international network of fresh produce growers, distributors, and marketers that encompasses a world of freshness. Since its inception in 1922, the Giumarra group of companies has taken pride in a longstanding commitment and tradition of quality, reliability and innovation to feed the world in a healthy way. For more information, visit: www.giumarra.com.

SOURCE PureSense