New Smartphone App For Cotton Irrigation Management

May 06, 2014

The SmartIrrigation Cotton App is an interactive tool that can assist growers with making management decisions regarding irrigation of their cotton crop. It uses meteorological data, soil parameters, crop growth stage, crop coefficients, measured rainfall, and irrigation applications. It will then provide an estimate of root zone soil water deficits in terms of inches of water and percent of total moisture.

The model does not deliver irrigation application recommendations. However, the user can utilize the root zone soil water deficit information to make appropriate irrigation decisions. The Cotton App provides notifications to the user when actions such as irrigation are needed.

For example, the Cotton App sends the user a notification when the root zone plant available soil water deficit exceeds 50% of plant available soil water indicating that irrigation is recommended. UGA Agricultural Engineer, Dr. Georgia Vellidis and his team evaluated the App during 2012 and 2013 in replicated plot experiments and in commercial fields. The App predictions matched field observations reasonably well.

Source:uga.edu

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.