Dr. Hemendra Kumar, a tenure-track precision agriculture faculty member and Principal Investigator of PAL, is passionate about advancing cutting-edge interdisciplinary research across diverse landscapes using science and technology.
Dr. Kumar is an expert in developing climate- and water-smart irrigation solutions for site-specific precision water management issues in a changing climate. He has pioneered innovative methods for precision irrigation, accurately estimating water stress conditions during critical crop growth stages using field-collected data (Machine Learning) and physical models (HYDRUS and SWAT) to inform decision-making. Additionally, Dr. Kumar has devised a novel method for optimizing management zones based field capacity to determine accurate irrigation thresholds and amounts, ensuring the upper water holding capacity of the soils. This approach underscores the necessity of variable rate irrigation as a climate-resilient solution, addressing the challenges of water scarcity during growing seasons.
Expertise:
- Precison Agriculture
- Climate-and Water-Smart Irrigation Management
- Agricultural Water Management
- Drainage Water Management
- Inverse Modeling
- Crop Modeling
- Digital Agriculture
- Surface and Subsurface Hydrologic Modeling
- Groundwater
- Hydrology
- Water Quality
- Statistics
- Machine Learning and Remote Sensing
