Location: Fresno, CA (greenhouse study) 

Trial Goals

• Evaluate the impact of the UpTerra-treated water and UpTerra 30% reduced water treatments on the growth, development, and physiological responses of ‘Platinum’ clone pistachio rootstock.
• Assess the effects of the UpTerra-treated water and UpTerra 30% reduced water treatments on key soil parameters, including salt leaching efficiency, soil moisture retention and nutrient availability, relative to the non-treated control soil. 

Key Results

The following results were observed in the UpTerra-treated plants, relative to the controls. 

• Up to 32% more soil moisture in optimal soil conditions
• Up to 107% increase in root volume in saline soils
• Up to 25% higher leaf chlorophyll values in saline soils
• Improved crop performance with 30% less water applied 
• 20% reduction in electrical conductivity (EC) in saline soil
• 21% reduction in sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) in saline soil

Trial Setup

• Two trials were conducted by the MARI Agricultural Research Institute using robust data collection and testing protocols.
• Each trial compared TerraFlow-treated crop performance to an untreated control crop in both saline and optimal soil conditions. Each trial also included an UpTerra 30% reduced water treatment to examine how the crop responded to reduced irrigation with UpTerra-treated water.    
• Growing practices were the same throughout each trial, with the UpTerra System as the only treatment intervention.
• Collected data was statistically analyzed, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare differences between treatments for each experiment. Post-hoc tests, Fisher’s Least Significant Difference (LSD), were utilized to identify significant variations between treatment groups at P<0.05.

	Trial 1	Trial 2
Time	August to December 2023	May to September 2024
Variety	UCB1 seedling	Platinum, tissue cultured
Soil Conditions	Saline (EC=16 dS/m) and optimal (EC=3.7 dS/m) soil conditions	Saline (EC=17.8 dS/m) and optimal (EC =3.1 dS/m)soil conditions
Irrigation Treatments	Standard irrigation: 1 L per pot 30% reduced application treatment: 700 mL per pot	Standard irrigation: 1 L per pot 30% reduced application treatment: 700 mL per pot
Age of Trees	Unbudded	Unbudded
Number of trees	14 per replication	14 per replication

UpTerra System setup in the greenhouse. A: Trial start-tree status in May 2024 B: Trial end-tree status in September 2024 C: Soil sampling before tree harvest with a 12-inch soil probe sampler D: UpTerra System covered in a metal cage

Trial Results

MARI conducted trials in 2023 and 2024 to evaluate UpTerra’s irrigation technology in pistachio trees. Both trials included observations and data collection in optimal (non-saline) and saline soils, and with a standard and reduced irrigation volume.    

Trial 1 Results

	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on soil moisture percentage in greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The different statistical letter on the columns shows significant differences between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. Soil moisture data revealed that UpTerra-treated water improved soil moisture content in both optimal and saline soil conditions.  In addition, UpTerra-treated water applied at a 30% reduced volume in optimal soil showed a slight increase in soil moisture compared to the control treatment.
	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on root volume of UCB1 unbudded pistachio trees in greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The similar statistical letter on the columns shows a non-significant difference between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. In optimal soils, the 30% reduced UpTerra water treatment plants had the greatest root volumes. In the saline soil, all treatments performed similarly.
	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on total leaf chlorophylls of UCB1 unbudded pistachio trees in greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The similar statistical letter on the columns shows a non-significant difference between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. In optimal soil conditions, the 30% reduced UpTerra water treatment produced plants with the highest leaf chlorophyll amounts. In saline soils, the UpTerra-treated plants (both standard and 30% reduced irrigation) demonstrated higher chlorophyll values than the untreated control plants.

Trial 2 Results

	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on soil moisture percentage in greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The different statistical letter on the columns shows significant differences between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. Soil moisture data revealed that UpTerra-treated water slightly improved soil moisture content in optimal and saline soils at standard irrigation volumes compared to the control.  The UpTerra reduced irrigation volume treatments did show a significant soil moisture reduction compared to the standard volume treatments in this trial.
	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on root volume of unbudded pistachio trees ingreenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The similar statistical letter on the columns shows a nonsignificantdifference between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. Both UpTerra treatments (standard and reduced irrigation volumes) produced greater root volumes than the untreated control. The standard UpTerra treatment demonstrated a statistically significant improvement over the control.  In saline soils, both UpTerra treatments (standard and 30% reduced irrigation volumes) demonstrated significantly greater root volumes than the untreated control.
	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on total leaf chlorophylls of unbudded pistachio treesin greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. The similar statistical letter on the columns shows a non-significant difference between the treatments using LSD at P<0.05. UpTerra treatments (standard and reduced irrigation volumes) produced plants with higher leaf chlorophyll amounts than the untreated control in both optimal and salty soil conditions.
	The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on the survival percentage of unbudded pistachio trees in greenhouse conditions for optimal and saline soils. In optimal soil conditions, all treatments had 100% tree survival rates. In saline conditions, both UpTerra treatments (standard and 30% reduced irrigation volumes) demonstrated a 66% increase in tree survival rates.

UpTerra %  Salinity Reductions Under Saline Soil Conditions

	pH	EC (dS/m)	SAR	Na (meq/L)	Cl (meq/L)
Study 1	1.2%	20.2%	33.6%	32.5%	19.6%
Study 2	0%	20.7%	21.0%	24.6%	37.5%

The effect of UpTerra irrigation treatment on plant and root growth of unbudded pistachiorootstock in greenhouse conditions in saline soil conditions. Under normal irrigation volumes, the UpTerra-treated plants showed more vigorous growth and biomass accumulation than control plants. In both UpTerra treatments (standard and 30% reduced irrigation volume), the root masses of Platinum rootstocks were greater than those of control plants.

Key Trial Takeaways

Researchers at MARI concluded:

• TerraFlow-treated water enhanced soluble calcium to restore soil structure and reduce salt stress in the root zone.
• TerraFlow helped release and mobilize key nutrients in the soil like calcium, magnesium, boron, and zinc—making them more available for plant uptake.
• TerraFlow improved physical and chemical soil properties—enhancing biological activity, nutrient cycling and water infiltration in pistachio greenhouse trials.
• TerraFlow had a positive impact on pistachio growth and development, including larger root masses, more vigorous growth and improved chlorophyll levels in leaves. 
• TerraFlow helped pistachio trees maintain productivity with 30% less water than the control.
• TerraFlow significantly enhanced tree survival in saline soils. 
• These trials suggest that pistachio producers can enhance water use efficiency and plant health, while reducing the negative impacts of salinity stress with UpTerra technologies.  

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