Using Precipitation Forecasts to Irrigate Cotton.

In this experiment, precipitation forecasts were used to schedule irrigation for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Four irrigation treatments and two cotton varieties were evaluated at Stripling Irrigation Research Park located near Camilla, GA in 2014. Two treatments were irrigated based on forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Ensemble Prediction System (EPS) and The Weather Channel®'s mobile app. Irrigation amounts for these two treatments were determined by the Cotton Irrigation Schedule Suggested for High Yields (check-book recommendations). The third treatment was irrigated by the check-book method and the fourth was rainfed. Irrigation applied for each treatment was 34.8 cm, 26.7cm, and 31.9 cm for the ECMWF EPS, weather.com, and checkbook, respectively. Rainfed cotton received 16.56 cm in precipitation. All irrigation methods resulted in significantly higher yields than the rainfed cotton. Results suggest using precipitation forecasts to schedule irrigation could provide a convenient alternative to the check-book method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]