Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309828
Title: Uncertainty analysis of an irrigation scheduling model for water management in crop production

Author
item MUN, SUNGKWANG - Mississippi State University
item SASSSENRATH, GRETCHEN - Kansas State University
item SCHMIDT, AMY - University Of Nebraska
item LEE, NAN - Mississippi State University
item WADSWORTH, MARY - Mississippi State University
item RICE, BRANDON - Mississippi State University
item Corbitt, Jason
item Schneider, Jeanne
item TAGERT, MARY - Mississippi State University
item POTE, JONATHAN - Mississippi State University
item PRABHU, RAJ - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Agricultural Water Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2015
Publication Date: 4/11/2015
Citation: Mun, S., Sasssenrath, G.F., Schmidt, A.M., Lee, N., Wadsworth, M.C., Rice, B., Corbitt, J.Q., Schneider, J.M., Tagert, M.L., Pote, J., Prabhu, R. 2015. Uncertainty analysis of an irrigation scheduling model for water management in crop production. Agricultural Water Management. 155:100-112.

Interpretive Summary: Irrigation scheduling tools are critical to allow producers to manage water resources for crop production in an accurate and timely manner. To be useful, these tools need to be accurate, complete, and relatively reliable. The current work presents the uncertainty analysis and its results for the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST) model, showing the margin of error (uncertainty) of the resulting irrigation advice arising solely from the propagation of measurement uncertainty through the MIST calculations. The final relative uncertainty in the water balance value from MIST was shown to be around 9% of that value, which is in the normal range of the margin of error and acceptable for agronomic systems. The results of this research also indicate that accurate measurements of irrigation and rainfall are critical to minimizing errors in use of MIST and similar scheduling tools. While developed with data from Mississippi, the results of this uncertainty analysis are relevant to similar tool development efforts across the southern and southeastern United States, especially for locations lacking high-quality co-located weather stations.

Technical Abstract: Irrigation scheduling tools are critical to allow producers to manage water resources for crop production in an accurate and timely manner. To be useful, these tools need to be accurate, complete, and relatively reliable. The current work presents the uncertainty analysis and its results for the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST) model, showing the margin of error (uncertainty) of the resulting irrigation advice arising solely from the propagation of measurement uncertainty through the MIST calculations. The final relative uncertainty in the water balance value from MIST was shown to be around 9% of that value, which is in the normal range of the margin of error and acceptable for agronomic systems. The results of this research also indicate that accurate measurements of irrigation and rainfall are critical to minimizing errors in use of MIST and similar scheduling tools. While developed with data from Mississippi, the results of this uncertainty analysis are relevant to similar tool development efforts across the southern and southeastern United States, especially for locations lacking high-quality co-located weather stations.