Matthew Chappell, an associate professor of horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, received $47,000 from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The funding is part of an ongoing project to assess the use of precision irrigation technology among Georgia’s specialty crop producers.
Chappell hopes that advances in the way water is managed will increase the economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability of specialty crops, which include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops.
Other researchers working on the project are the college’s Paul Thomas and Marc van Iersel, both professors of horticulture, and Jean Williams-Woodward, an associate professor of plant pathology.