Harvora™ model-card brief

Irrigation and soil-water balance model card

This model card documents the method, evidence target and limitations for irrigation and soil-water balance. The 96.54% connected path requires a prior-day root-zone moisture observation; without one, the weather-only FAO-56 balance applies. Truth source is ERA5-Land reanalysis rather than physical orchard probes — the physical-probe field-evidence gate remains open.

Direct answer

What this supports

The surface reports days-to-deficit alongside a weather-derived water-balance signal, so irrigation timing stays a decision aid you can act on — not a sensor reading you have to interpret.

Intended for New Zealand growers, technical partners, lenders and insurers.

Evidence and method

How the signal is formed

A FAO-56 daily water balance runs over observed and forecast weather per block, with soil parameters resolved from the national soil registry and sampled as a distribution.

Evidence grade: ESTIMATE

Weather-benchmark measured today; every grower outcome logged in the product feeds the field benchmark it is measured against next.

Boundary

How to read this evidence

The 96.54% connected path requires a prior-day root-zone moisture observation; without one, the weather-only FAO-56 balance applies. Truth source is ERA5-Land reanalysis rather than physical orchard probes — the physical-probe field-evidence gate remains open.

Sources and related evidence

Published 25 August 2026 · Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · Harvora technical review

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