A statement from the CSIRO claimed the product to be used, known as WaterWise, was the only one for water-use efficiency that measured crop water stress and predicted future water needs in real time.

It said the tech would help growers save water or produce more crop per drop.

Goanna Ag will send analytics from WaterWise to customers who live on farms.

Dr Rose Brodrick of the CSIRO with a prototype WaterWise sensor for tomatoes. Courtesy CSIRO

This data is sent to CSIRO's sensor data infrastructure, along with the weather forecast and machine learning is used to apply the agency's own algorithm to predict water requirements for the next seven days.

Goanna Ag chief executive Alicia Garden said being involved in this exercise meant the firm and its customers could access brand-new, Australian-made, science-based technology and incorporate it into their existing GoField system.

"Being able to predict when to irrigate will allow our clients — farmers — to plan based on what the plant needs," she added.

WaterWise team leader Dr Rose Brodrick said predicting the future was the real breakthrough science and meant that growers could see the water stress of their crops at any point and predict future water needs.

"Just like humans, plants have an optimum temperature," she said. "When things are normal it's easier to predict when a plant will need water.

"But when conditions change — like with a new crop, a new field, or unusually hot or cold weather forecast — farmers want backup with their decision-making.

"The usual strategy is 'if you're unsure, just add water'. This is where using high tech can help give them data and more confidence in their decision making, because every drop counts."

The system is expected to be available for use during the 2020 summer cropping season.