Alavi (2026) Development of an Automation System for Site-Specific Irrigation and Nitrogen Application Using a Center Pivot Irrigation System

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: TigerPrints (Clemson University)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-01
• Authors: Javad Alavi
• DOI: None

Research Groups

• Clemson University Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
• USDA-NRCS (United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service)
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)

Short Summary

This study developed an automated irrigation-fertigation system for large-scale cotton production, integrating sensor data acquisition, spatial and temporal variability analysis, and variable-rate N injection. The system was evaluated at a field scale and simulated county-wide to compare Variable-Rate Irrigation (VRI) and Fixed-Rate Irrigation (FRI) strategies.

Objective

• Investigate the feasibility of an automated irrigation-fertigation system for large-scale cotton production.
• Evaluate the performance of the system in terms of accuracy, uniformity, and reliability.
• Compare county-scale Irrigation Water Requirements (IWRs) under VRI and FRI strategies.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: County-wide (nine counties in South Carolina)
• Temporal Scale: Two growing seasons (2023–2025)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: FAO-56 single and dual crop coefficient (Kc) methods
• Data sources:
  • USDA-NRCS soil survey data
  • Daily weather records
  • Satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) measurements

Main Results

• The automated irrigation-fertigation system successfully captured spatial Soil-Water Potential (SWP) variability and consistently triggered solenoid valves at or below the predefined –50 kPa threshold.
• NDVI sensors effectively characterized crop growth dynamics, including early-season variability, mid-season saturation, and late-season decline across five sensors operating under differentiated N application rates.
• The variable-rate N injection system demonstrated acceptable uniformity across management zones.

Contributions

• This study provides a robust framework for evaluating irrigation management strategies across varying spatial and climatic conditions.
• The integrated automated irrigation-fertigation system offers a promising solution for reducing environmental impact and production costs in large-scale cotton production.

Funding

• Clemson University Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (internal funding)
• USDA-NRCS (grant number not specified)

Citation

@article{Alavi2026Development,
  author = {Alavi, Javad},
  title = {Development of an Automation System for Site-Specific Irrigation and Nitrogen Application Using a Center Pivot Irrigation System},
  journal = {TigerPrints (Clemson University)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://openalex.org/W7217118569}
}