Strategies for crop production under drought conditions.
Dr. Abia Katimbo
Dr. Abia Katimbo is an Assistant Professor and Irrigation Management Specialist at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has both research and extension appointment and stationed at West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte. His research is focused on improving irrigation management in row crops through application of data-driven irrigation scheduling techniques, such as soil moisture sensing technology and remote sensing tools, mainly canopy sensing technology, as well as exploring advanced limited irrigation strategies targeting water-sensitive crop growth stages. He is also participating in interdisciplinary research that is exploring solutions that can mitigate nitrate leaching in irrigated corn production systems to conserve groundwater quality with reduced nitrate contamination, by integrating best irrigation and nitrogen management practices with use of cover crops.
Furthermore, Dr. Katimbo’s extension efforts are mainly focused on creating awareness about the benefits of using data collected on the farm among growers to guide irrigation scheduling with data-driven recommendations that can enhance water conservation and on-farm water use efficiency by optimizing water applications to maximize crop yields and profits. Most importantly, he is the pioneer of the irrigation outreach program known as Mobile Irrigation Testing Lab (MITLab) that is exposing farmers to advanced irrigation scheduling technology in West Central Nebraska, through training and demonstrations of use of data-driven recommendations from the technology on individual farms. The main goal is to facilitate adoption but also build trust in farmers about the capability of the available technology in increasing water savings and farm yields and profits.