Evaluating the Influence of Weather On Yield and Profitability of Cotton Under Deficit Irrigation.

Crop simulation models can be effectively used to simulate the yield of different crops under various soil and management conditions. Changes in weather conditions play a crucial role in determining yield and profits, particularly with the diminishing levels of available irrigation water in Texas High Plains. In this study, the synthetic weather data generator WGEN was used to simulate the possible weather conditions for Texas High Plains for 30 years. Then for the cotton model cotton2K was used to simulate the yield each year under 32 different irrigation strategies with various amounts of available irrigation water.  This yield information, along with the cost of production and pricing information for cotton, was used to assess the economic impact of the various irrigation scheduling strategies with different amounts of available irrigation water. The study provides profit maximizing and risk minimizing irrigation scheduling strategies with various amounts of available irrigation water.