Research & Outreach Overview:

Our research group conducts mission-oriented, applied research supported in part by USDA Hatch and Multistate funds. This work plays an important role in fulfilling the mission of the Agricultural Experiment Station at UC Riverside. We focus on developing practical solutions and science-based tools to support sustainable water management in both urban landscapes and agricultural systems. Our team conducts field trials, lab studies, and computer modeling to help communities and growers use water more efficiently while protecting natural resources. Current research areas include water conservation, smart irrigation technologies, safe use of recycled water for food production and precision agriculture. We also use advanced technologies such as drones, satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), and machine learning to collect and analyze data that improve decision-making and extend the reach of our findings. Our goal is to bridge research and outreach, ensuring that our work leads to real-world impact across California and beyond.

On-going Projects:

Drone-Enabled Root-Zone Soil Salinity Mapping for Precision Leaching Management in Desert Agriculture (2026-2027) 
PI:   Amir Verdi| Co-PI: Zhaowei Tan
The main objective of this project is to develop a novel hybrid drone-enabled sensing and communication system that combines drone-based multispectral and thermal imaging with real-time data harvested from buried multi-depth salinity sensors through LoRa wireless communication. During each flight, the drone will function as a mobile edge gateway, synchronizing aerial imagery with underground sensor data to generate reliable, field-scale root-zone salinity maps. 

A Mobile Persulfate Photolysis Reactor for Plant Growth Stage-Based On-farm Recycled Water Treatment to Minimize CEC Accumulation in Crops (2026-2028)
PI: Amir Verdi | Co-PI: Haizhou Liu
This project aims to develop an innovative combination of persulfate photolysis water treatment and plant growth stage-based water source alteration to minimize the accumulation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in fresh produce irrigated with recycled water (a.k.a treated wastewater). From a water treatment engineering perspective, the research team will develop a novel mobile persulfate photolysis reactor for the on-farm treatment of recycled water. From an irrigation engineering and management perspective, the team will conduct greenhouse experiments to advance the water source alteration approach into a plant growth stage-based water treatment strategy that mitigates the occurrence and accumulation of contaminants in the edible parts of crops. At the field level, this project will deploy and carefully examine the performance of the proposed integration of water source alteration and persulfate photolysis recycled water treatment technology.

Advancing irrigation and nitrogen management of cantaloupe in southern California using field experiments and remote sensing (2025-2027)
PI: Amir Verdi | Co-PIs: Jairo Diaz-Ramirez, Daniel Geisseler, Elia Scudiero 
The overall goal of this project is enhancing the sustainability of cantaloupe production in southern California regions. 
The specific objectives are to:
1. Evaluate the response of cantaloupe to different irrigation and nitrogen amounts for heavy and coarse soil types in the southern California agriculture region.
2. Develop recommendations for irrigation and nitrogen management of cantaloupe in the region.
3. Develop and evaluate statistical yield predicting remote sensing-based models using drone and satellite data (based on the findings from our previous study in alfalfa, we hypothesize that remote sensing can also effectively predict the yield of other crops, including cantaloupe in the region).

 Water Reuse for Sustainable Agriculture: Erase PFAS and Organic Contaminants from Water-Food Nexus (2025-2027)
PI: Haizhou Liu | Co-PIs: Amir Verdi, Patricia Holden, Thomas Young
This project aims to improve agriculture sustainability and agro-urban ecosystem health by developing innovative recycled water treatment technologies and management strategies for recycled wastewater irrigation in agriculture, and evaluating downstream contaminant removal from food production and water-soil-food ecosystem using edible crop irrigation research trials. 

Previous Projects:

Comprehensive Evaluation of Organic and Inorganic Mulches for Urban Heat Island Mitigation, Water Conservation, and Stormwater Harvesting Compared to Turfgrass and Bare Soil (2025-2026)
PI: Amir Verdi | Co-PI: Donald Merhaut 

Evaluating wood fiber and green waste as a partial alternative to peat in horticultural substrate for nursery and greenhouse production (2025-2026)
PI: Gerardo Spinelli  | Co-PI: Amir Verdi

AGLINK: Enhancing Drone-Based Remote Sensing for Digital Agriculture (2025-2026)
PI:  Zhaowei Tan| Co-PI: Amir Verdi

Establishing real-world water use and irrigation cooling benefits baselines for 18 landscape species in inland southern California (2023-2024)
PI:  Amir Verdi

Developing evapotranspiration based irrigation and water conservation recommendations for multiple groundcover species in inland southern California  (2021-2024) 
PI : Amir Haghverdi | co-PI: Don Merhaut

Development of a Novel Photochemical Water Reuse Technology for Urban Agriculture Irrigation and Food Production  (2022-2023) 
PI: Haizhou Liu | Co-PI: Amir Haghverdi

Improving Water Quantity and Quality: Develop Novel and Sustainable Treatment of Recycled Wastewater for Irrigation (2020-2023) 
PI: Haizhou Liu | Co-PI: Amir Haghverdi

Enhancing Irrigation Management in Southern California Desert Agriculture to Increase Water Use Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability (2019-2023)
PI: Amir Haghverdi |Co-PI: Aliasghar Montazar

Combined field irrigation trials and economic analysis to investigate water conservation determinants, water saving potential, and the return on investment of multiple water management technologies and strategies (2020-2022) 
PIs : Amir Haghverdi and Mehdi Nemati

Determining the Effect of Pricing Structure on Urban Water Demand: A Long-Term Analysis of Major Water Utilities in California (2019-2020)
PI: Mehdi Nemati | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Amir Haghverdi, Etaferahu Takele, Janet Hartin

Using Smart Irrigation Technologies to Optimize Recycled Water Application for Turfgrass Irrigation to Conserve Water, Maintain Turf Quality, and Sustain Soil Health (2018-2020)
PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Darren Haver, Laosheng Wu
​(support provided by NWRI and SCSC will be graduate student fellowship to PhD student Amninder Singh)

Advancing urban irrigation management to enhance water use efficiency, drought mitigation, and environmental protection (2018-2021)
 PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Darren Haver, Laosheng Wu, Maggie Reiter, Janet Hartin, Alireza Pourreza

Using Smart Irrigation Technologies to Advance Urban Landscape Irrigation in Inland Southern California (2018-2019)
PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Donald Merhaut, Janet Hartin, Laurent Ahiablame

Optical and thermal remote sensing of turfgrass response to different deficit irrigation strategies in central and southern CA (2017-2019)
PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Maggie Reiter, Alireza Pourreza, Janet Hartin

Enhancing site-specific turf irrigation management and developing turf deficit irrigation strategies using soil moisture sensors, smart ET-based irrigation controllers, and remote sensing (2018-2020)
PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Laosheng Wu, Janet Hartin

Accounting for salinity leaching in the application of recycled water for landscape irrigation (2017-2018)
PI: Amir Haghverdi | Co-PIs & Collaborators: Laosheng Wu