Agreement Number
NR20-13G004
Awardee Name
University of Hawaii
Grant Type
Classic
Project Title
Forecasting daily reference evapotranspiration and rainfall for water resources conservation and sustainable agriculture
Awardee State/Territory
Hawaii
Involved States/territories
Hawaii
Award Year
2019
Start Date
End Date
Award Amount
$900,000.00
Production/Use
Farmland Agricultural
Farmland Horticultural
Resource Concern (Broad)
Water
Resource Concern (Specific)
Inefficient irrigation water use
Water Quantity
Conservation Practice(s)
Irrigation Water Management
Project Background
Optimal irrigation scheduling is about applying the right amount of water at the right time. This project will optimize scheduling by using new technology to recognize short term trends in evapotranspiration (ETo) and Rainfall (R) data to lead to improved predictions for scheduling. Objectives include: 1) Using hybrid wavelet-Artificial Neural Networks to accurately forecast daily ETo and R across different agricultural irrigation areas in Hawaii, Guam, and Nebraska; 2) Utilize the ETo and R forecasts to improve irrigation scheduling in Nebraska; 3) Incorporate the forecasted ETo and R values into CropManag tool and develop “Advanced CropManage” to improve water use efficiency for farmlands in Hawaii and Guam; 4) Validate Advanced CropManage in improving water use efficiency at the Farm-level with field trials; 5) Implement an outreach program targeting farmers and other agricultural professionals to enhance their awareness and adoption of advanced web-based irrigation tools that conserve water and enhance farm productivity.
Project Scale
Regional
Project targeted to Historically Underserved producers?
Yes