AI-Powered Irrigation Management

Center pivot irrigation system

Content

Irrigation Educator GPT:

The Irrigation Educator GPT is now live — a smart assistant to help students, producers, and ag professionals make better irrigation decisions. 🌱💧

https://go.unl.edu/irrigationGPT

With the current push for more AI in agriculture from both industry and Washington DC, the Irrigation Educator GPT is based on credible sources (such as Irrigation Systems Management) and gives insightful answers in 58+ languages. 

Journal Articles:

  • Amori, P. N., Heeren, D. M., Shi, Y., Wilkening, E. J., Goncalves, I. Z, Balboa, G. R., Rudnick, D. R., Katimbo, A., & Ritzema, R. S. (2025). Scalable machine learning framework for adaptive irrigation management in commercial crop fields. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 237: 110710. Available here.
  • Amori, P. N., Heeren, D. M., Balboa, G. R., Puntel, L. A., Shi, Y., Rudnick, D. R., Luck, J. D., Wilkening, E. J., & Zhang, K. (2026). Optimizing in-season nitrogen management through satellite-guided fertigation in field-scale maize production. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2025.111275
  • Amori, P. N., Heeren, D. M., Balboa, G. R., Smith, T. G., Luck, J. D., Shi, Y., Rudnick, D. R., & Boldt, A. L. (2026). A mass balance method for developing nitrogen as-applied maps in flow-proportional variable-rate fertigation systems. Precision Agriculture 27: 73. Available here.
  • Wilkening, E. J., Heeren, D. M., Shi, Y., Puntel, L. A., Balboa, G. R., Katimbo, A., Zhang, K., Amori, P. N., & Lena, B. P. (2025). Development of a machine learning framework for an irrigation decision support system. Journal of Natural Resources and Agricultural Ecosystems 3(3): 121-131. Available here.
  • Nsoh, B., Katimbo, A., Guo, H., Heeren, D. M., Nakabuye, H. N., Qiao, X., Ge, Y., Rudnick, D. R., Wanyama, J., Bwambale, E., & Kiraga, S. (2024). IoT-based automated solutions utilizing machine learning for smart and real-time irrigation management: A review. Sensors 24: 7480. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237480

Promotional Video:

  • Artificial Intelligence for Food Production. Available here. 

Related Resources:

  • The BSE AI Knowledge Base, a repository of resources related to AI for agriculture and biological systems. Available here.
  • The technical knowledge base used for the Irrigation Educator GPT. Available here.