Files
Abstract
Irrigation has become a key management practice in cotton production throughout the southeast. However, in the past 10 years, many scheduling tools have been developed to better improve irrigation efficiency and reduce input costs. The main objective of this study is to evaluate various commercially available irrigation scheduling techniques in cotton. Then assess the effects of population density on irrigation frequency and efficiency to maintain profitability through seed and irrigation inputs. The results of this study show that many sensor-based scheduling tools and the SmartIrrigation Cropfit app can all perform well when used properly. They also showed that lower final plant stands required higher irrigation volumes than denser populations. Because of this, there was no difference in profitability between any of the irrigated treatments in both 2023 and 2024.