Agriculture · Application

Nuts & fruit trees

WaterPearls can be used in a variety of orchards like almond, walnut, hazelnut, apple and pear.

WaterPearls mats laid across an almond orchard floor in Woodland, California

In the field

WaterPearls mats laid across an almond orchard, over or under the existing irrigation lines.

Up to 25–50% of irrigation water is lost to evaporation, per the UN FAO

30–50%

Water input reduced

5–15%

Yield increase

Long service life

Low maintenance

How it works

Place it once, then leave it.

Inserted in mats

Thousands of WaterPearls are inserted in mats.

Laid on the ground

Mats are laid on the ground over or under irrigation lines and secured with pegs.

Walk-on ready

Workers can walk on them with ease.

Performance

Measurable results in the orchard.

Cut irrigation water 30–50% vs a measured baseline
Lift yield ~5–15% in trials by keeping more moisture available at the root zone
Reduce nutrient input by keeping soil at optimal moisture level
Reduce herbicide use and cover-crop upkeep: the mats are an air- and water-permeable cover
Stretch limited irrigation further on water-constrained farmland

WaterPearls mats laid around a young tree, before the soil cover is applied

Benefits

Built for the full orchard lifecycle.

Facilitate transition to organic agriculture
Low maintenance across the asset's life
Reduce water pumping costs for irrigated orchards
Improve soil health and biota
Improve resilience to climate change and extreme weather events

Field trial · Woodland, California

Measured in a real almond orchard.

In the summer of 2022, WaterPearls mats were installed over the root zone of an almond orchard near Woodland, California, and monitored with multi-depth soil-moisture sensors through 75 consecutive days without rain.

Soil-moisture sensors placed at 6-inch intervals down to 48 inches, comparing treated rows against an untreated control
Up to 3× more water stored in the soil profile under the WaterPearls mats
Moisture recharged toward maximum infiltration capacity within roughly 3.5 months
Lower irrigation draw over time: water that stays available for downstream users in the watershed

Intermediate results from a 2022 field trial, reported by RHST Industries. Performance varies with crop, climate and coverage. Download the case study (PDF) →