THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL REFINE AND APPLY A MULTI-SCALE REMOTE SENSING TOOLKIT FOR MAPPING CROP WATER USE AND CROP STRESS FOR IMPROVED IRRIGATION SCHEDULING AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN VINEYARDS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA A REGION OF ENDEMIC PERIODIC DROUGHT. WHILE THIS WORK WILL FOCUS PRIMARILY ON VINEYARDS THE IMPROVED TOOLS WILL ALSO HAVE APPLICATIONS TO FRUIT AND NUT ORCHARDS AND OTHER CROPS WITH HIGHLY-STRUCTURED CANOPIES. IN CALIFORNIA GRAPES REPRESENT NEARLY 1 MILLION ACRES OF PRODUCTION VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $6 BILLION WHILE FRUIT AND NUT ORCHARDS REPRESENT AN ADDITIONAL 2.6 MILLION ACRES WITH CROPS VALUED IN EXCESS OF $10 BILLION. TO SUSTAINABLY CONTINUE IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION IN THIS REGION BETTER TOOLS FOR MANAGING WATER USE ARE NEEDED. DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH TOOLS HAS BEEN THE FOCUS OF THE ONGOING GRAPEX (GRAPE REMOTE SENSING ATMOSPHERIC PROFILE AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION EXPERIMENT) PROJECT LED BY SEVERAL OF THE INVESTIGATORS ON THIS PROPOSAL AND SUPPORTED LOGISTICALLY BY ERNEST AND JULIO GALLO WINERIES. DURING THE 2013 TO THE 2016 GROWING SEASONS MICROMETEOROGICAL BIOPHYSICAL AND REMOTE SENSING DATA HAVE BEEN COLLECTED IN ADJACENT PINOT NOIR VINEYARDS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF MATURITY NEAR LODI CA WITH RECENT EXPANSION TO VINEYARDS NEAR LIVINGSTON CA. THE AIM OF GRAPEX IS TO COMBINE IN-SITU AND REMOTELY SENSED DATA TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CANOPY STRUCTURE AND ROW ORIENTATION ON ENERGY AND MOISTURE EXCHANGE PROCESSES WITHIN AND ABOVE THE VINE CANOPY. THESE FINDINGS HAVE BEEN USED TO ENHANCE OUR MULTI-SCALE MODELING SYSTEM TO ACCURATELY DETERMINE ET FROM SUCH HIGHLY STRUCTURED CANOPIES. A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF GRAPEX HAS BEEN TO WORK CLOSELY AND COLLABORATIVELY WITH SCIENTISTS AT GALLO TO ENSURE THAT BOTH THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND THE MODELS AND TOOLS BEING DEVELOPED CAN ADDRESS CRITICAL OPERATIONAL NEEDS. FOR E&J GALLO AND OTHER VINEYARD MANAGERS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY THE PRIMARY NEEDS ARE DETERMINING THE APPROPRIATE TIMING TO INITIATE IRRIGATION IN THE SPRING BASED ON DEFINED SOIL MOISTURE/ ET THRESHOLDS AND DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF IRRIGATION WATER TO APPLY ON A WEEKLY BASIS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE GRAPE PRODUCTION AND WINE QUALITY OBJECTIVES. WHILE OTHER ET TOOLS ARE CURRENTLY USED BY GALLO THEY LACK KEY MECHANISMS AND PROCESSES TO ADDRESS THESE IMPORTANT MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL TRANSITION TO GALLO A NEW TOOL FOR MAPPING DAILY ET AT 30M RESOLUTION WHICH CAN BE RUN YEAR-ROUND OVER TARGETED AREAS. WE WILL ALSO PROVIDE BASELINE DAILY ET MAPS AT 375M COVERING THE FULL STATE OF CALIFORNIA PROVIDING REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR WATER MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING. WE WILL WORK WITH GALLO ON STRATEGIES FOR COLLECTING VERY HIGH RESOLUTION SCIENTIFIC-GRADE UAV DATA DURING CRITICAL PHENOLOGICAL STAGES TO SUPPORT PRECISION MANAGEMENT AND UPSCALING OF ROUTINE YIELD SAMPLES TO FULL-FIELD VALUES. ADDITIONAL DELIVERABLES INCLUDE: I) DECISION THRESHOLDS FOR FACTORS INFLUENCING ET AND WATER MANAGEMENT THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED COLLABORATIVELY BY SCIENTISTS AT GALLO AND USDA; AND II) A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE VALUE OF USING THE ET MAPPING TOOL IN TERMS OF IMPROVING GRAPE QUALITY AND DEVELOPING MORE EFFICIENT IRRIGATION STRATEGIES COMPARED TO WHAT IS CURRENTLY BEING USED. DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE ROBUST ET MAPPING TOOL FOR IMPROVED IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT IS PARTICULARLY SALIENT IN DROUGHT-PRONE REGIONS THAT ARE ALREADY UNDER WATER RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY REGULATORY AGENCIES AND REQUIREMENTS TO MAXIMIZE WATER CONSERVATION. IN ADDITION THE SYNERGISTIC USE OF BOTH UAV HIGH-RESOLUTION AND SATELLITE IMAGERY WILL DEMONSTRATE THE INFORMATION BENEFITS OF MERGING THE DATA FROM THESE TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT. FINALLY THE REMOTE SENSING-BASED WATER MANAGEMENT TOOLS DEVELOPED FROM THIS PROJECT WILL REDUCE THE IMPACT OF DROUGHT ON THE MINING OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES AND LEAD TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CENTRAL VALLEY.