Risk Management Potential of Supplemental Irrigation for Cotton in a Sub-humid Climate under Climate Change

Author

Wen Liu, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

8-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Economics

Major Professor

James A. Larson

Committee Members

James A. Larson, Burton C. English, Christopher N. Boyer, Christopher D.Clark, Seong-Hoon Cho

Abstract

Adoption of supplemental irrigation to reduce cotton yield losses is a potential risk management strategy for farmers given increasingly frequent drought periods due to climate change. However, cotton farmers in the rolling landscape areas of the lower Mississippi River Basin (MRB) are concerned about whether an investment in supplemental irrigation is economically feasible. This study determined the impacts of the effects of risk exposure on optimal irrigation strategies for cotton production under climate change in West Tennessee. A crop simulation model was calibrated and validated using measured data from cotton irrigation experiments at Jackson, TN over three years (2006–2008). Simulated cotton yield matched closely with observed yield during model calibration (coefficient of determination r² >0.85; index of agreement d>0.87; percent error PE

Recommended Citation

Liu, Wen, "Risk Management Potential of Supplemental Irrigation for Cotton in a Sub-humid Climate under Climate Change. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2021.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/6119