Evapotranspiration Modeling &
Irrigation Decision Support
Theoretical Advancement of Evapotranspiration
A calibration-free Priestley-Taylor method
A calibration-free Priestley-Taylor (PT_SS) method is developed to enhance local, regional, and global reference ET estimation [Su and Singh, 2023]. The gridded global PT coefficients is provided for hydrologic and crop modeling (see here for data download).
Reference ET models evaluation
By evaluating commonly used reference ET models over Texas, we improved the efficiency and accuracy of the less data-intensive methods applied for regional or global irrigation [Su et al., 2022].
A GIS-based decision support system for water resources management
A GIS-based decision support system for decision makers and stakeholders in Texas [Su and Karthikeyan, 2023] is eveloped to evaluate impacts of climate change, socioeconomic development, and irrigation management on water resources at local scales.
Sensor-based and Crop Specific Irrigation Scheduling
Bias correction of weather forecasts for real-time regional crop modeling using GCM ensembles
A novel seasonal weather forecast tool for regional crop modeling and irrigation management is developed, which is the first attempt to provide real-time high-resolution seasonal weather forecasts using downscaled real-time General Circulation Models (GCMs) for regional irrigation management [Su et al., under review].
Remote detection of water stress using a center pivot irrigation system-mounted sensor package
We evaluated the performance of the sensor package of IRT and NDVI sensors, and a mini weather station for detecting cotton water stress in two-year field study [Sapkota at al. 2023].
A prototype of a novel sensor- and crop-model-based irrigation management decision support mobile app
This cutting-edge mobile app (idCROP) integrates site-specific and forecasted weather, sensor, and soil data, as well as crop and economic modeling, allowing users to choose a strategy that best fits water capacity and yield/economic goals [Ale, Su et al., 2023].
View more about idCROP project.
Industry note: Irrigated agriculture under climate change
Improved irrigation capacity and technology efficiency in currently irrigated regions are needed to ensure future food security. Drip and sprinkler irrigation systems are to be expanded to save both water and energy. Projections of crop yield losses under changing climate still exhibit large variations, primarily due to the uncertainties from models used and large ranges of estimations of climate change effects [Singh and Su et al., 2022].