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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Wind Erosion and Water Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294375
Title: A Web Application for Cotton Irrigation Management on The US Southern High Plains. Part I: Crop Yield Modeling and Profit Analysis

Author
item Mauget, Steven
item Leiker, Gary
item NAIR, SHYAM - Texas Tech University

Submitted to: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/26/2013
Publication Date: 11/1/2013
Citation: Mauget, S.A., Leiker, G.R., Nair, S. 2013. A web application for cotton irrigation management on the US Southern High Plains. Part I: Crop yield modeling and profit analysis. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 99:248-257.

Interpretive Summary: Irrigated cotton farming is a major part of west Texas agriculture that depends on the basically non-renewable water resource of the Ogallala aquifer. Web-based decision support tools that estimate the profit effects of irrigation for cotton under varying lint price, production cost, and well flow conditions could help to reduce waste and increase the profit impact of the Ogallala’s water. The crop modeling and profit analysis component of such a web application is demonstrated here. This app is based on a modeled yields generated from the weather records of four Southern High Plains weather stations under un-irrigated (dryland) conditions and under center pivot irrigation with 12 total irrigation levels spanning deficit to full irrigation conditions. The application converts the database’s dryland and irrigated yield outcomes into corresponding values of profit per acre based on yield values and production costs defined by the farmer. Given the resulting values of dryland and irrigated profit per unit area and the additional constraints of a user’s well capacity and center pivot area, the application also calculates the profit effects of dividing center pivot area into dryland and irrigated production under the 12 irrigation levels.

Technical Abstract: Irrigated cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) production is a central part of west Texas agriculture that depends on the essentially non-renewable water resource of the Ogallala aquifer. Web-based decision support tools that estimate the profit effects of irrigation for cotton under varying lint price, production cost, and well capacity conditions could help to optimize the agricultural value of the Ogallala’s water. The crop modeling and profit analysis component of such a support tool is demonstrated here. This web application is based on a database of modeled yields generated from the meteorological records of four weather stations under un-irrigated (dryland) conditions and under center pivot irrigation with 12 total irrigation (TI) levels spanning deficit to full irrigation conditions. The application converts the database’s dryland and irrigated yield outcomes into corresponding values of profit per hectare based on user-defined yield values and production costs. Given the resulting values of dryland and irrigated profit per unit area and the additional constraints of a user’s well capacity and center pivot area, the application also calculates the profit effects of dividing center pivot area into dryland and irrigated production under the 12 irrigation levels.