WATERSOLV™ AGRICULTURE CASE STUDIES
Real farms. Measured water, soil, and crop results.
Three field studies with the numbers as they were reported: a Hemet grapefruit orchard, a four-way tomato trial, and an A/B block comparison in almonds and pistachios in Madera County, plus the chemistry reference HCT points to. Skim the rows, then open the one closest to your crop and water.
3 field studies + 1 reference · Citrus, tomatoes, almonds, pistachios · Yield, quality, water, and soil chemistry · Figures as reported by each source
BROWSE CASE STUDIES
Choose the study you want to explore.
Each row is a one-minute overview. Open it for the situation, the treatment, what was measured, and the source the figures came from.
HEMET, CALIFORNIA · COMMERCIAL GRAPEFRUIT ORCHARD
Grapefruit Orchard
3 ppm Curative + 1 ppm BC through irrigation; first-year yield up 50% vs. history.
+50%
first-year yield vs. historical
Open ↓
CASE STUDY 01 · GRAPEFRUIT ORCHARD
A commercial grapefruit orchard on season-long, low-rate injection.
Hemet, California. A documented orchard-performance overview compared against the orchard’s own historical performance, not a replicated control trial.
THE PROGRAM
WaterSOLV™ Curative at 3 ppm and WaterSOLV™ BC at 1 ppm, both prediluted and continuously injected with the irrigation water through the growing season. The aim was to improve water quality, unlock soil nutrients, and support tree health, as a season-long approach rather than a one-time corrective shot.
WHAT WAS OBSERVED
Side-by-side orchard photos at 6 and 9 months were described as showing stronger foliage growth and leaf development on treated trees, with the response still visible later in the season.
WHAT WAS MEASURED
Soil pH, soil conductivity, and leaf micronutrients were tracked as the indicators supporting the orchard-performance story, so the result is tied to water, soil, and foliage changes rather than to a visual comparison alone.
REPORTED OUTCOME
A 50% increase in yield in year one compared with the orchard’s historical performance.
+50%
first-year yield vs. historical orchard performance
3 ppm / 1 ppm
Curative / BC, continuous injection
6 & 9 months
side-by-side foliage observations
pH · EC · leaf
indicators tracked through the season
FIELD TRIAL · FOUR TREATMENT PROGRAMS
Tomato Trial
WaterSOLV™ + Bactor Boost vs. a control and two conventional programs.
4.85 → 5.11
Brix, control → WaterSOLV
Open ↓
CASE STUDY 02 · TOMATO TRIAL
Four tomato programs compared on yield, quality, and defects.
A commercial tomato field trial. The useful part is the structure: the same harvest metrics applied to a control, two conventional programs, and WaterSOLV™.
THE FOUR TREATMENTS
Control; Sulfuric acid + BioFlora; ClearWater + ProMaxx; and WaterSOLV™ + Bactor Boost. Each was evaluated on total yield, paid yield, Brix, color, pH, and defect categories.
WHAT THE WATERSOLV™ TREATMENT SHOWED
Higher Brix than the control (4.85 → 5.11) and stronger color (22.78 → 24.75). Green fruit, mold, and off-grade fruit were described as lower under the WaterSOLV™ treatment.
WHY IT READS AS A HARVEST-VALUE RESULT
A field can produce well and still leave value behind if fruit falls outside the paid category. The trial summary treats yield, paid yield, quality, and defects together, so the WaterSOLV™ result is presented as more of the crop staying valuable, not as a single top-line yield claim.
HOW TO USE IT
Compare how the WaterSOLV™ program separated from the control and the other two programs across the same metrics, then judge whether the same logic fits your water, soil, and crop stage.
4.85 → 5.11
Brix, control → WaterSOLV™
22.78 → 24.75
color, control → WaterSOLV™
Lower
green fruit, mold, and off-grade fruit
4 programs
one control, two conventional, WaterSOLV™
“Lower defects may matter as much as higher output.”
HARVEST LENS · HCT UNIVERSITY
MADERA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA · BAPU FARMS · 2020
Almonds & Pistachios A/B
Treated blocks vs. sulfuric, urea, and gypsum in a no-rain season; both crops out-yielded.
+14% · +12%
almonds · pistachios, lbs/acre
Open ↓
CASE STUDY 03 · ALMONDS & PISTACHIOS A/B
Treated and untreated blocks, side by side, through a no-rain season.
BAPU Farms, Madera County, California. January through the September 2020 harvest. Agronomy by SJV Agronomy (James Lovelady); lab work by Valley Tec Ag Lab (Joe Obrien).
THE COMPARISON
5D Almonds: blocks 1–2 treated, blocks 3–4 untreated. Lost Hills Pistachios: blocks 18–19 treated, blocks 14–17 untreated. Treated blocks ran WaterSOLV™ Curative and WaterSOLV™ BC; untreated blocks stayed on conventional sulfuric acid, urea, and gypsum. Source water, soil (0–6 and 6–24 inch), and tissue were sampled every two months.
THE WATER IT HAD TO WORK WITH
The 5D source water carried 372 mg/l bicarbonate, 470 ppm total hardness, 122 mg/l sodium, and 191 mg/l chloride, calling for 4.21 ppm Curative and 0.75 ppm BC. Lost Hills water was lighter (100 mg/l bicarbonate, 102 ppm hardness), calling for 1.01 ppm Curative and 0.75 ppm BC.
THE PRODUCTION RECORDS
Almonds, first year of production: treated blocks yielded 573 lbs/acre against 501 untreated, a 14% increase (Nonpareil +12%, Monterey +16%). Pistachios: 3,154 lbs/acre treated against 2,823 untreated, a 12% increase. Single-season A/B block comparison without replication; yields from the grower's production records.
WHAT THE LAB DATA POINTED TO
Treated and untreated soils showed the same phosphate and calcium, but the untreated side carried far more iron and aluminum; on the treated side iron was 0.55x and aluminum 0.59x of untreated. The agronomist’s read: the program made or released more soluble, available calcium for plant uptake, overcoming excess iron and aluminum, with more available zinc, carbon, and potassium as well.
501 → 573
almonds, lbs/acre, untreated → treated (+14%)
2,823 → 3,154
pistachios, lbs/acre, untreated → treated (+12%)
372 mg/l
bicarbonate in the 5D source water
0.55x / 0.59x
iron / aluminum on treated soils vs. untreated
“Conventional agronomy testing validates the value of WaterSOLV™ products.”
STUDY CONCLUSION
REFERENCE · UC DAVIS / LIBRETEXTS
Solubility Equilibria
HCT’s chemistry reference for how minerals dissolve and precipitate in water.
Ksp
solubility equilibria
Open ↓
REFERENCE · SOLUBILITY EQUILIBRIA
The chemistry behind dissolving and precipitating minerals in water.
HCT’s post points to the UC Davis / California State University chapter on solubility equilibria (LibreTexts Chemistry). It is background reading, not a field trial.
WHAT IT COVERS
How sparingly soluble salts such as carbonates and hydroxides dissolve or precipitate, and how the solubility product (Ksp) and the ions already present in the water shift that balance.
WHY HCT POINTS TO IT
Bicarbonates, calcium, magnesium, and sodium in irrigation water decide what precipitates in lines and soil and what stays available to the crop. The chapter explains the equilibria that the studies above are working against.
Ksp
solubility product, the governing constant
Carbonates
the salts most relevant to irrigation water
NEXT STEP
Need help applying these insights to your operation?
Talk with HCT about your irrigation water, soil conditions, and the crop performance issues you are trying to improve. Testing comes first, so the program is sized to your water rather than to a generic rate.
WHAT A CONVERSATION COVERS
✓ Your irrigation water and soil conditions
✓ How your operation compares to these case studies
✓ A treatment approach built around your crop and irrigation system
HCT, LLC · WaterSOLV™ Agriculture Case Studies · Scottsdale, Arizona