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Competitive Agricultural Systems in Global Economy
Arizona Meteorological Network (AZMET)
Issue
The Arizona Meteorological Network (AZMET) was developed in 1987 to
provide weather data and information in near real time to the state's
producers of agricultural and horticultural crops. Properly tailored
weather information can assist with important management decisions related
to variety selection, planting dates, crop assessment, pest control,
irrigation and harvest.
What has been done?
A network of 23 automated weather stations was established in southern
and central Arizona to supply meteorological data from important agricultural
production areas and selected urban locations. Meteorological data obtained
by the stations are transferred to a Tucson-based data processing center
each night where computers process the data into a variety of informational
formats. AZMET data and reports are made available to the public free
of charge via two Internet Web pages.
Impact
AZMET is now widely accepted as an important (and often the only) source
of meteorological information pertaining to the production of agricultural
and horticultural crops in Arizona. Use of AZMET information continues
at a high rate; users accessed AZMET Web pages in excess of 90,000 times
in 2002.
Crop Production: Perhaps the most important impact of AZMET in production
agriculture has been its ability to provide reliable information on
heat units which are used to 1) time planting and harvest dates of horticultural
crops such as melons and sweet corn; 2) predict pest development; and
3) monitor general crop development. AZMET plays an integral role in
the success of the Arizona Cotton Advisory Program by providing weekly
updates on heat unit accumulation, crop water use, and current and projected
weather condition. AZMET also provides daily updates on the potential
for heat stress, which can significantly reduce fruit retention and
yield of cotton.
Water Use/Irrigation Management: AZMET provides data on evapotranspiration
(ET) which can be used to estimate the water use of vegetation. During
2003 the tribal farm of the Ft. Mohave Indian Reservation began using
AZMET ET to schedule irrigations on more than 6,000 acres of cotton
and alfalfa. AZMET generates daily turf water use reports for the Phoenix
area and distributes this information to the public via a turf water
management web page, email and automated fax transfer system. Sixteen
large turf facilities ( with more than 10 acres in turf; mostly golf
courses and parks) receive this information via email or fax daily.
The turf web page was accessed in excess of 5300 times in 2002. AZMET
also generates a lawn watering guide which is published daily in major
newspapers in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Consulting: AZMET information is also widely used by the consulting
community for production agriculture, environmental impact assessments,
insurance claims, legal disputes and water rights adjudication.
Funding
Arizona Cotton Research and Protection Council
Arizona Grain Research & Promotion Council
Arizona Department of Water Resources
City of Phoenix
Station sponsors: irrigation districts, NRCDs, power districts, commodity
organizations, etc.
Contact
Paul W. Brown, extension specialist, biometeorology
Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science
429 Shantz Bldg #38, Tucson, AZ 85721
Tel: 520-621-1319, FAX: 520-621-9796
Email: pbrown@ag.arizona.edu
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