Crop Irrigation Scheduling via Simulation-Based Experimentation

Intraseasonal water allocation to a single crop has been studied extensively. Previous studies have emphasized the need to coordinate irrigation scheduling with several factors including economic and physical constraints, amount of soil moisture available at the time of irrigations, growth stage of the plant, interactive effects from previous and/or subsequent irrigation, and the effect, timing, and stochastic nature of weather conditions (e.g., Hagan; Shipley, Regier, and Wehrly; Jensen and Musick). Experimental data incorporating these factors which can be used in addressing the irrigation scheduling question are limited. The typical approach in obtaining these data has been to perform expensive and time-consuming field experiments at a specific location. Recent developments in reliable crop-growth simulation models have presented opportunities for advanced production and policy planning in macroand microeconomics (Boggess, Musser and Tew). The use of simulation models was widely accepted in agriculture even a decade ago (e.g., Johnson and Rausser); yet,