Georgia Water Resources Conference

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Georgia Water Resources Conference

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/70886

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Georgia Water Resources Institute

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 13

Peanut Water Use under Optimum Conditions of Growth and Development: A Simulation Approach

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-03) Garcia y Garcia, Axel ; Guerra, Larry C. ; Suleiman, Ayman ; Paz, Joel O. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

Soil and weather conditions are not always favorable for optimal growth and development of plants and experiments must be repeated over time and space in order to obtain results that can reflect the average conditions of a specific area. Crop models and Decision Support Systems are useful tools as a complement to research, such as their ability to simulate a crop's response to different management scenarios under various environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the water use of peanut grown under optimum conditions of soil and weather. Our analysis revealed that peanut requires around 22 inches of water from sowing to harvest. No significant differences on water use were found between early and medium maturity varieties; however, significant differences were found between medium and late maturity varieties and between early and late maturity varieties.
Impact of local weather variability on irrigation water use in Georgia

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Guerra, Larry C. ; Garcia y Garcia, Axel ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Hook, James E. ; Harrison, Kerry A. ; Boken, Vijendra K.

Irrigation is often used to offset the impact of rainfall variability on crop yield and to reduce the risk associated with weather variability. However, especially for the state of Georgia, how much water is required and how much water is actually being used for irrigation is largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between farmers' irrigation applications, crop types, and local weather conditions. Farmers' monthly irrigation applications for three major crops in Georgia, i.e., cotton, peanut and maize, were obtained from selected sites of the Agricultural Water Pumping program. Significant relationships between monthly irrigation depth and monthly water deficit were obtained for only two of seven months for cotton, five of seven months for peanut, and only one of six months for maize. Individual differences among farmers on how much water they applied contributed to the lack of correlation between monthly irrigation depth and monthly water deficit. Future efforts should focus on a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the farmer's decisions related to when to irrigate and how much water to apply.
Effects of hurricanes Frances, Ivan and Jeanne on Georgia irrigators

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Beckhusen, Julia ; Goodenbery, Joseph B. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Mullen, Jeffrey D.

In September 2004, a series of hurricanes hit the coast of Florida. Although the hurricanes were down-graded by the time they reached Georgia, they caused significant damage to agricultural fields in the state. A survey of 73 Georgia irrigators was conducted in October 2004 to assess damages from each of the storms. Information from the survey included the type of crops damaged, amount of damage due to reduced yields, amount of damage due to reduced quality, the source of the damages, coping strategies employed by the farmers, insurance coverage, and the impact on fall harvest and planting dates.
The potential of a decision support system to simulate irrigation scheduling in southwest Georgia

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Garcia y Garcia, Axel ; Guerra, Larry C. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Hook, James E. ; Harrison, Kerry A.

A decision support system was used to simulate irrigation scheduling for maize, cotton, and peanut for the 2001 to 2004 cropping seasons in southwest Georgia. The results were compared with observed data from the Agricultural Water Pumping (AWP) project. The comparison of the cumulative distribution functions between simulated and observed monthly amounts of irrigation showed significant differences for the three crops. However, almost 50% of the simulated cotton and peanut monthly amounts of irrigation were adequately correlated with the observed data. The analysis and comparison of the observed and simulated irrigation scheduling showed the potential that the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop simulation models can be used as a tool for on-farm irrigation scheduling.
Irrigation management strategies in Georgia

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Yu, Yingzhuo ; Mullen, Jeffrey D. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

Water use distribution across space, time, and crops is important to irrigation management strategies. A survey of Georgia irrigators was administered to collects information about crop choices and irrigated acreages allocation under different irrigation management strategies, factors affecting the decision to irrigate, farmers’ interest in open-access information, and decision support programs. Results indicate that the choice of crops affects the irrigation management strategy applied. Weather, soil, plant visual condition, germination, and growth stage are the most cited factors affecting the decision to turn on the pump. The quantity of irrigated water is typically measured by visual inspection and general experience. Farmers expressed considerable interest in accessing information relevant to their crop choice, acreage allocation, and irrigation strategies through the internet
Water Use Estimation for Some Major Crops in Georgia Using Geospatial Modeling

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Boken, Vijendra K. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Guerra, Larry C. ; Hook, James E. ; Thomas, Daniel L. ; Harrison, Kerry A.

Agricultural water use estimation can contribute to finding a satisfactory solution of the water dispute among the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. In this paper, the depths of irrigation for cotton, peanut, corn, and soybean are estimated for the Flint, Central, and Coastal water zones of Georgia for 2000, 2001, and 2002. In addition, the volume of irrigation for these crops are estimated for 2000 and 2001. The estimation was based on the spatial interpolation of the data collected under the Agricultural Water Pumping project. The interpolation techniques included the inverse distance weighting, local polynomial, global polynomial, radial basis function, ordinary kriging, and universal kriging. The total volume of irrigation was highest for the Flint zone (578.4 Mm3 ), followed by the Central zone (296.3 Mm3 ) and the Coastal zone (103.0 Mm3 ) for 2000. For 2001, the irrigation volume declined by 41% for the Flint zone, 31% for the Central zone, and 20% for the Coastal zone.
Agricultural Water Use in Georgia: Results from the Ag. Water Pumping Program

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Thomas, Daniel L. ; Harrison, Kerry A. ; Hook, James E. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; McClendon, R. W. ; Wheeler, L.

This paper presents the results for the period 1999 to 2002 from the monitoring program that is estimating agricultural water use across the entire state of Georgia. This program is called AG. WATER PUMPING (Agricultural Water: Potential Use and Management Program in Georgia). Current conflicts on water allocation in the ACT (Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa) and ACF (Apalachicola, Flint, and Chattahoochee) river basins, saltwater intrusion effects in the 24 county area of southeast Georgia, water level declines in the central region, and other potential impacts on water use are all limited by the lack of available information on agricultural water use. This 5-year project is nearing completion. The results for calendar years 2001 and 2002 are based on the complete monitoring site installation whereas previous years were during the installation (incomplete coverage in selected parts of the state).
Estimating Statewide Irrigation Requirements Using a Crop Simulation Model

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Guerra, Larry C. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Boken, Vijendra K. ; Thomas, Daniel L. ; Hook, James E. ; Harrison, Kerry A.

An understanding of water needs in agriculture is a critical input in resolving the water resource issues that confront the state of Georgia. Unfortunately, how much water is required and how much water is actually being used for irrigation is unknown. The objective of this study was to estimate water demand for irrigation for the entire state of Georgia using a crop simulation model. The irrigation requirements for all the counties where irrigated cotton, corn, peanut and soybean were grown in 2000, 2001 and 2002 were estimated using the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model. These counties were distributed across seven regions; with three regions, i.e., Flint Basin, Central Coastal Plain and Coastal Zone, representing the major growing areas. The combined irrigation withdrawal in the Flint Basin, Central Coastal Plain and Coastal Zone accounted for about 98% and 99% of the statewide total irrigation withdrawal in 2000 and 2001, respectively, mainly due to large irrigated acreage in those regions. Statewide total irrigation withdrawal was estimated to be 199,125 Mgallons in 2000 and 114,101 Mgallons in 2001. These irrigation requirements will vary from year to year depending on the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall during the growing season. Total irrigated acreage also had a major impact on irrigation withdrawal. We will implement the model for other crops to determine the total irrigation withdrawals for agriculture in the state of Georgia.
Agricultural Water Use Associated with Animal Production Systems in Georgia

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Newton, G. Larry ; Baker, J. F. ; Dove, C. R. ; Bernard, J. K. ; McCranie, M. D. ; Boken, Vijendra K. ; Thomas, Daniel L. ; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

Agricultural waters use normally centers on the large cross-section of irrigation withdrawals by cropping systems. However, animal production systems are also a significant component of water use in the state of Georgia. These production systems are therefore directly affected by the continuing drought and limited availability of water. Many animal production facilities, such as dairies, poultry houses, processing plants, and related operations use water continuously throughout the year. Some of these facilities could be prime candidates for improvements in water use efficiency and water conservation. The main emphasis of this paper will be to present an overview of water use associated with animal production systems in the state of Georgia.
The Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network: Ten Years of Weather Information for Water Resources Management

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Hoogenboom, Gerrit ; Coker, D. D.

With the continuing drought that started in 1998, access to accurate rainfall information for remote locations in Georgia remains very important. One of the main goals of the Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AMEN) is the collection of weather data across the state of Georgia. The AEMN was established in 1991 with the installation of four automated weather stations in Griffin, Tifton, Watkinsville and Midville. A major milestone was reached at the end of 2001 with the completion of 10 years of continuous records for these first stations. A second milestone was reached in September 2002 with the installation of the 50th weather station in Homerville in south Georgia. The weather data are disseminated in near real-time mode via the worldwide web (www.Georgiaweather.net). The main goal of this paper is to present an overview of the network and examples of the application of this information for water resources management.