The University of Georgia is part of a national team that received a 5-year USDA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant award of $5,161,495 to investigate precision irrigation and nutrient management for nursery, greenhouse and green roof systems, using wireless sensor networks.
Dr. John Lea-Cox from the University of Maryland is leading the project. The University of Georgia team members are Drs. Marc van Iersel, John Ruter, Matthew Chappell, and Paul Thomas. The University of Georgia will receive $520,000 to develop more efficient irrigation practices in greenhouses and nurseries.
Other universities and research centers cooperating in this project are Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, the University of Colorado, Cornell University, and the Center for Environmental Science at the University of Maryland. The commercial partners are Decagon Devices, Inc. in Pullman, WA and Antir Software in Jarrettsville, MD. Evergreen Nursery in Statham, GA and McCorkle Nurseries in Dearing, GA will cooperate in this project and serve as test sites.
This grant, combined with an additional $5,205,172 in matching funding from various sources, will bring together a multidisciplinary group of engineers, plant scientists, economists and extension specialists, to develop the next generation of tools to precisely monitor plant water use, allow for better control of irrigation water applications and increase the efficiency of water and nutrient use by ornamental growers. The research is tightly integrated with sensor networks within a number of commercial nurseries and greenhouse operations throughout the US. Close cooperation among academics and commercial growers will take advantage of the growers’ expertise to ensure rapid progress towards implementation of the science into practice. This project is expected to result in large reductions in water and fertilizer use and to decrease the environmental impact of ornamental production. More details of the project goals, the university teams and the commercial partners can be found at smart-farms.net.
