AI Tool Could Help Farmers Efficiently and Sustainably Water Crops

Aug 05, 2024

Artificial intelligence will start helping farmers water their crops under a new University of Hawai?i project.

An AI irrigation management system called CropManage will be connected to 14 participating farms.

The software will access data from weather stations and combine it with information about the farms, such as crop types, farm size and location, to determine how much water they need.

“Preliminary results show that CropManage could reduce the amount of irrigation water by 35%, or even sometimes 40%, and enhance crop yields by 20% or even more. So, CropManage lowers farmers’ cost of water and labor through fewer irrigation events,” said Sayed Bateni, the project’s principal investigator.

Bateni is a professor at UH Manoa’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering and Water Resources Research Center.

The project's goal is to help farmers grow their crops efficiently while also conserving water.

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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.