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• 1. [Article] Addressing Data Resolution in Precision Agriculture

  Irrigated agriculture constitutes the greatest consumptive water use globally, so that irrigation efficiency measures are an important part of global efforts to best utilize this limited resource. However, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Addressing Data Resolution in Precision Agriculture Author: Kelley, Jason Irrigated agriculture constitutes the greatest consumptive water use globally, so that irrigation efficiency measures are an important part of global efforts to best utilize this limited resource. However, greater irrigation efficiency must be achieved while simultaneously maintaining or increasing crop yields and farming profitability. Incremental water use decisions are made at the local level by farmers under many real world constraints; consequently they face significant risks in operating large and complex irrigation systems. These decisions should be supported by reliable information upon which to base operational plans and irrigation scheduling. Implementing precision irrigation effectively depends upon highly resolved estimates of crop water demand so that application rates match demand precisely both in location and timing. A fundamental challenge in mapping the irrigation requirement is addressing the heterogeneity of soil, biophysical, and atmospheric processes which mediate water demand. However, existing methods to determine the irrigation requirement assume that field conditions are homogeneous. Precision irrigation systems may enable more specific water distribution than traditional irrigation equipment, but allocating the correct amount of water requires crop water estimates that accurately reflect the variability of the irrigation requirement and consider the scale and timing at which irrigation can be delivered. This dissertation synthesizes the results from field studies which analyzed spatial patterns of irrigation performance and crop water demand under real field conditions. The first experiment quantified the performance of a precision irrigation system and determined the data resolution required for effective utilization of the system’s capability (Chapter 2). Field trials were conducted with a variable rate center pivot sprinkler (VRI) under normal farming conditions to determine this spatial resolution. The result was the definition of a performance coefficient and characteristic length scale associated with the irrigation system. The characteristic length scale describes the highest resolution prescription possible with VRI. Following on these findings, a second study compares an electromagnetic (EM) soil mapping method using extensive laboratory soil characterization as a basis for comparison (Chapter 3). The motivation of the study was to validate the EM method’s capability to detect small scale variations in soil water holding capacity, and to determine under which conditions the EM method can obtain reliable and robust soil maps. The findings reinforce earlier work on the importance of instrument calibration, and also show that specific soil characteristics may preclude using EM methods to map soil in some regions. Following the soil mapping study, further studies investigated methods to measure crop evapotranspiration (ET). A literature review was conducted to establish a catalog of contemporary methods to monitor ET, focusing on those commonly used in agriculture (Chapter 4). From this review, the surface renewal method (SR) emerged as potentially able to map ET feasibly and cost-effectively. Four field experiments were conducted over two years under a range of field conditions to establish a robust protocol for the determination of surface fluxes with SR (Chapter 5). Three of these experiments specifically investigated the potential for SR to be implemented from a moving sensor platform, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle. Experiments showed SR could estimate sensible heat flux as accurately as eddy covariance during moving trials. However, analysis of the minimum flux averaging period demonstrated that SR cannot resolve fluxes at the requisite spatial scales for precision irrigation. Nonetheless, SR remains promising for other practical applications in measuring surface fluxes. Future research questions and potential applications are explored in Chapters 5 and 6. The methods described here are directly relevant to water managers at the levels of farms and irrigation districts. Efficient irrigation planning depends on timely, reliable, and site-specific information in order to anticipate crop water demand, irrigate adequately to prevent drought stress, and maximize yield from the available resource. Growers and irrigation specialists currently have many resources at their disposal, including regional and satellite based ET estimates, state and local soil mapping, and scientific irrigation planning software. However, these methods do not provide site-specific and real time measurements of actual crop water demand, and farmers do not have any reliable means by which to validate the accuracy and precision of these estimates. For this information to be directly useful in irrigation planning, it should be validated by on site measurements. Reliable, local, and real time information is required to realize the full potential of precision agriculture. Title: Addressing Data Resolution in Precision Agriculture Author: Kelley, Jason Irrigated agriculture constitutes the greatest consumptive water use globally, so that irrigation efficiency measures are an important part of global efforts to best utilize this limited resource. However, greater irrigation efficiency must be achieved while simultaneously maintaining or increasing crop yields and farming profitability. Incremental water use decisions are made at the local level by farmers under many real world constraints; consequently they face significant risks in operating large and complex irrigation systems. These decisions should be supported by reliable information upon which to base operational plans and irrigation scheduling. Implementing precision irrigation effectively depends upon highly resolved estimates of crop water demand so that application rates match demand precisely both in location and timing. A fundamental challenge in mapping the irrigation requirement is addressing the heterogeneity of soil, biophysical, and atmospheric processes which mediate water demand. However, existing methods to determine the irrigation requirement assume that field conditions are homogeneous. Precision irrigation systems may enable more specific water distribution than traditional irrigation equipment, but allocating the correct amount of water requires crop water estimates that accurately reflect the variability of the irrigation requirement and consider the scale and timing at which irrigation can be delivered. This dissertation synthesizes the results from field studies which analyzed spatial patterns of irrigation performance and crop water demand under real field conditions. The first experiment quantified the performance of a precision irrigation system and determined the data resolution required for effective utilization of the system’s capability (Chapter 2). Field trials were conducted with a variable rate center pivot sprinkler (VRI) under normal farming conditions to determine this spatial resolution. The result was the definition of a performance coefficient and characteristic length scale associated with the irrigation system. The characteristic length scale describes the highest resolution prescription possible with VRI. Following on these findings, a second study compares an electromagnetic (EM) soil mapping method using extensive laboratory soil characterization as a basis for comparison (Chapter 3). The motivation of the study was to validate the EM method’s capability to detect small scale variations in soil water holding capacity, and to determine under which conditions the EM method can obtain reliable and robust soil maps. The findings reinforce earlier work on the importance of instrument calibration, and also show that specific soil characteristics may preclude using EM methods to map soil in some regions. Following the soil mapping study, further studies investigated methods to measure crop evapotranspiration (ET). A literature review was conducted to establish a catalog of contemporary methods to monitor ET, focusing on those commonly used in agriculture (Chapter 4). From this review, the surface renewal method (SR) emerged as potentially able to map ET feasibly and cost-effectively. Four field experiments were conducted over two years under a range of field conditions to establish a robust protocol for the determination of surface fluxes with SR (Chapter 5). Three of these experiments specifically investigated the potential for SR to be implemented from a moving sensor platform, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle. Experiments showed SR could estimate sensible heat flux as accurately as eddy covariance during moving trials. However, analysis of the minimum flux averaging period demonstrated that SR cannot resolve fluxes at the requisite spatial scales for precision irrigation. Nonetheless, SR remains promising for other practical applications in measuring surface fluxes. Future research questions and potential applications are explored in Chapters 5 and 6. The methods described here are directly relevant to water managers at the levels of farms and irrigation districts. Efficient irrigation planning depends on timely, reliable, and site-specific information in order to anticipate crop water demand, irrigate adequately to prevent drought stress, and maximize yield from the available resource. Growers and irrigation specialists currently have many resources at their disposal, including regional and satellite based ET estimates, state and local soil mapping, and scientific irrigation planning software. However, these methods do not provide site-specific and real time measurements of actual crop water demand, and farmers do not have any reliable means by which to validate the accuracy and precision of these estimates. For this information to be directly useful in irrigation planning, it should be validated by on site measurements. Reliable, local, and real time information is required to realize the full potential of precision agriculture. Close

• 2. [Article] Simple irrigation scheduling using the "look and feel" method

  Published August 1998. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catal...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Simple irrigation scheduling using the "look and feel" method Author: Long, L. E. (Lynn Edwards), 1953-, Oregon State University. Extension Service, Niederholzer, Franz Published August 1998. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Title: Simple irrigation scheduling using the "look and feel" method Author: Long, L. E. (Lynn Edwards), 1953-, Oregon State University. Extension Service, Niederholzer, Franz Published August 1998. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Close

• 3. [Article] Using infrared canopy temperature and leaf water potential for irrigation scheduling in peppermint (Mentha piperita L.)

  Several methods of infering plant water stress for irrigation scheduling are based upon measurements of the environment in which the plants grow. These measurements include parameters such as soil water ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Using infrared canopy temperature and leaf water potential for irrigation scheduling in peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) Author: Gallardo, Ivan T. Several methods of infering plant water stress for irrigation scheduling are based upon measurements of the environment in which the plants grow. These measurements include parameters such as soil water content, air temperature, pan evaporation and incident radiation. It is hypothesized that improved estimates of plant water deficit can be obtained by direct measurements made on the plants. The main objective of this study was to test the performance of measurements of canopy temperature and leaf water potential for irrigation scheduling. This study seeks to establish whether a correlation exists between these monitoring methods and measurements of soil moisture content, leaf area, and evapotranspiration. The experiments were conducted in first-year peppermint irrigated at five different rates. Canopy and air temperatures were measured with a hand-held infrared thermometer. Leaf water potential was measured with a pressure bomb. A non-stressed baseline for the difference between canopy temperature and air temperature using data from well-watered plants was used together with the vapor pressure deficit to determine the crop water stress index (CWSI). The results of this study show that the CWSI is well correlated to evapotranspiration deficit and is useful for irrigation scheduling. The relationship between leaf area yield and CWSI in peppermint was described by a quadratic function. Leaf water potential varied during the day in such a way that it was not possible to establish a relationship with water stress, differences in soil moisture content, or different irrigation levels. Leaf water potential was influenced by the daily weather conditions and represented the current demand more than the cumulative demand. The results of this study indicate that mid-day pressure bomb measurements cannot be used in irrigation scheduling. Predawn measurements of leaf water potential were stable, were well correlated with the different irrigation levels and soil moisture content, and therefore may be useful in irrigation scheduling. Title: Using infrared canopy temperature and leaf water potential for irrigation scheduling in peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) Author: Gallardo, Ivan T. Several methods of infering plant water stress for irrigation scheduling are based upon measurements of the environment in which the plants grow. These measurements include parameters such as soil water content, air temperature, pan evaporation and incident radiation. It is hypothesized that improved estimates of plant water deficit can be obtained by direct measurements made on the plants. The main objective of this study was to test the performance of measurements of canopy temperature and leaf water potential for irrigation scheduling. This study seeks to establish whether a correlation exists between these monitoring methods and measurements of soil moisture content, leaf area, and evapotranspiration. The experiments were conducted in first-year peppermint irrigated at five different rates. Canopy and air temperatures were measured with a hand-held infrared thermometer. Leaf water potential was measured with a pressure bomb. A non-stressed baseline for the difference between canopy temperature and air temperature using data from well-watered plants was used together with the vapor pressure deficit to determine the crop water stress index (CWSI). The results of this study show that the CWSI is well correlated to evapotranspiration deficit and is useful for irrigation scheduling. The relationship between leaf area yield and CWSI in peppermint was described by a quadratic function. Leaf water potential varied during the day in such a way that it was not possible to establish a relationship with water stress, differences in soil moisture content, or different irrigation levels. Leaf water potential was influenced by the daily weather conditions and represented the current demand more than the cumulative demand. The results of this study indicate that mid-day pressure bomb measurements cannot be used in irrigation scheduling. Predawn measurements of leaf water potential were stable, were well correlated with the different irrigation levels and soil moisture content, and therefore may be useful in irrigation scheduling. Close

• 4. [Article] Irrigation scheduling

  Declared out of print May 2010. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.e...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Irrigation scheduling Author: Washington State University. Cooperative Extension, United States. Dept. of Agriculture, Oregon State University. Extension Service, Trimmer, Walter L., University of Idaho. Cooperative Extension Service, Hansen, Hugh J. Declared out of print May 2010. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Title: Irrigation scheduling Author: Washington State University. Cooperative Extension, United States. Dept. of Agriculture, Oregon State University. Extension Service, Trimmer, Walter L., University of Idaho. Cooperative Extension Service, Hansen, Hugh J. Declared out of print May 2010. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Close

• 5. [Article] Successful potato irrigation scheduling

  Published October 2006. A more recent revision exists. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Successful potato irrigation scheduling Author: Flock, R., Pereira, A., Jensen, L., Eldredge, E., Oregon State University. Extension Service, Shock, C. C. (Clinton C.) Published October 2006. A more recent revision exists. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Title: Successful potato irrigation scheduling Author: Flock, R., Pereira, A., Jensen, L., Eldredge, E., Oregon State University. Extension Service, Shock, C. C. (Clinton C.) Published October 2006. A more recent revision exists. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Close

• 6. [Article] Crop water use curves for irrigation scheduling

  Published March 1984. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Crop water use curves for irrigation scheduling Author: Hane, Dan C., Pumphrey, F. V. (Floyd Vance), Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station Published March 1984. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Title: Crop water use curves for irrigation scheduling Author: Hane, Dan C., Pumphrey, F. V. (Floyd Vance), Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station Published March 1984. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog Close

• 7. [Article] Development of a direct reading evaporation pan for scheduling pasture irrigation

  Information contained within documents may be obsolete. Please check for recent information at the OSU Extension Service website: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/results.php?cat=Agriculture

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Development of a direct reading evaporation pan for scheduling pasture irrigation Author: Evans, Daniel D., 1920-, Wolfe, John W. (John William), 1917- Information contained within documents may be obsolete. Please check for recent information at the OSU Extension Service website: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/results.php?cat=Agriculture Title: Development of a direct reading evaporation pan for scheduling pasture irrigation Author: Evans, Daniel D., 1920-, Wolfe, John W. (John William), 1917- Information contained within documents may be obsolete. Please check for recent information at the OSU Extension Service website: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/results.php?cat=Agriculture Close

• 8. [Article] Optimization of seasonal irrigation scheduling by genetic algorithms

  In this work, we first introduce a novel approach to the long term irrigation scheduling using Genetic Algorithms (GAs). We explore the effectiveness of GAs in the context of optimizing nonlinear crop ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Optimization of seasonal irrigation scheduling by genetic algorithms Author: Canpolat, Necati In this work, we first introduce a novel approach to the long term irrigation scheduling using Genetic Algorithms (GAs). We explore the effectiveness of GAs in the context of optimizing nonlinear crop models and describe application requirements and implementation of the technique. GAs were found to converge quickly to near-optimal solutions. Second, we analyze the relationship between GA control parameters (population size, crossover rate, and mutation rate) and performance. We identify a combination of population, mutation, and crossover which searched the fitness landscape efficiently. The results suggest that smaller populations are able to provide better performance at relatively low mutation rates. More stable outcomes were generated using low mutation rates. Without crossover the quality of solutions were generally impaired, and the search process was lengthened. Aside from crossover rate zero, no other crossover rates significantly differed. The behaviors observed for best, online, offline, and average performances were sensitive to the combined influences control parameters. Interaction among control parameters was strongly indicated. Finally, several adaptive penalty techniques are presented for handling constraints in GAs, and their effectiveness is demonstrated. The constant penalty function suffered from sensitivity to settings of penalty coefficients, and was not successful in satisfying constraints. The adaptive penalty functions utilizes violation distance based metrics and search time based scaling using generation or trials number, and fitness values to penalize infeasible solutions, as the distance from the feasible region or number of generations increases so does the penalty. They were quite successful in providing solutions with minimal effort. They adapt the penalty as the search continues, encouraging feasible solutions to emerge over the time. Adaptive approaches presented here are flexible, efficient, and robust to parameter settings. Title: Optimization of seasonal irrigation scheduling by genetic algorithms Author: Canpolat, Necati In this work, we first introduce a novel approach to the long term irrigation scheduling using Genetic Algorithms (GAs). We explore the effectiveness of GAs in the context of optimizing nonlinear crop models and describe application requirements and implementation of the technique. GAs were found to converge quickly to near-optimal solutions. Second, we analyze the relationship between GA control parameters (population size, crossover rate, and mutation rate) and performance. We identify a combination of population, mutation, and crossover which searched the fitness landscape efficiently. The results suggest that smaller populations are able to provide better performance at relatively low mutation rates. More stable outcomes were generated using low mutation rates. Without crossover the quality of solutions were generally impaired, and the search process was lengthened. Aside from crossover rate zero, no other crossover rates significantly differed. The behaviors observed for best, online, offline, and average performances were sensitive to the combined influences control parameters. Interaction among control parameters was strongly indicated. Finally, several adaptive penalty techniques are presented for handling constraints in GAs, and their effectiveness is demonstrated. The constant penalty function suffered from sensitivity to settings of penalty coefficients, and was not successful in satisfying constraints. The adaptive penalty functions utilizes violation distance based metrics and search time based scaling using generation or trials number, and fitness values to penalize infeasible solutions, as the distance from the feasible region or number of generations increases so does the penalty. They were quite successful in providing solutions with minimal effort. They adapt the penalty as the search continues, encouraging feasible solutions to emerge over the time. Adaptive approaches presented here are flexible, efficient, and robust to parameter settings. Close