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
Education
- Ph.D. Major- Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University
- Ph.D. Minor- Statistics, Auburn University
- MS- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Auburn University
- M.Tech- Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and University of Stuttgart
- B.Tech- Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University
Welcome to the Precision Agriculture Lab (PAL)! 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. Please reach out at hemendra@umd.edu to discuss the ideas.
Professional Experience
Affiliate Faculty - Department of Environmental Science and Technology
Precision Agriculture Specialist (Faculty Rank- Assistant Professor) - University of Maryland
Postdoctoral Scholar - The Ohio State University, Wooster Ohio
Postdoctoral Scholar - USDA ARS Application Technology Research Unit (ATRU), Wooster Ohio
Graduate Research Assistant - Auburn University
Lab Research Associate - USDA ARS National Soil Dynamic Lab, Auburn Alabama
Research Associate - Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany
Research Associate - IIT Roorkee
Graduate Research Assistant - IIT Roorkee
Publications
Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Lamba, J., Ortiz, B.V., Lyon, S.W., Takhellambam, B.S., Morata, G. and Bondesan, L., 2023. Integral Approach of Unsupervised Learning and Temporal Stability in Irrigation Management. ASABE Annual International Meeting. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Lamba, J., Lena, B., Diamantopoulos, E., Ortiz, B., Takhellambam, B., Morata, G. and Bondesan, L., 2023. A methodology to optimize site-specific field capacity and irrigation thresholds. Agricultural Water Management.
Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Lamba, J., Diamantopoulos, E., Ortiz, B., Morata, G., Takhellambam, B. and Bondesan, L., 2022. Site-specific irrigation scheduling using one-layer soil hydraulic properties and inverse modeling. Agricultural Water Management.
Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Lamba, J., Ortiz, B.V., Way, T.R., Sangha, L., Takhellambam, B.S., Morata, G. and Molinari, R., 2022. Within-field variability in nutrients for site-specific agricultural management in irrigated cornfield. Journal of the ASABE.
Lena, B.P., Bondesan, L., Pinheiro, E.A.R., Ortiz, B.V., Morata, G.T. and Kumar, H., 2022. Determination of irrigation scheduling thresholds based on HYDRUS-1D simulations of field capacity for multilayered agronomic soils in Alabama, USA. Agricultural Water Management.
Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Ortiz, B.V., Morata, G., Takhellambam, B.S., Lamba, J. and Bondesan, L., 2021. Field-scale spatial and temporal soil water variability in irrigated croplands. Transactions of the ASABE.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Extension Articles
Lena, B.P., Bondesan, L., Ortiz, B.V., Morata, G., Kumar, H., 2021. Irrigation Scheduling Using Soil Water Tension Sensors. Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Ortiz, B.V., Bondesan, L., Morata, G., McClendon, P. and Kumar, H., 2021. Maintaining water application uniformity in irrigation systems. Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Ortiz, B.V., Lena, B.P., Morata, G., Bondesan, L., Oliveira, L.P., Oldag, J., Jimenez-Lopez,A.F., Kumar, H., Balkcom, K., Pate, G., Sanz-Saez, A., 2021. DigitalAg@Farms: Efforts to put digital technologies and site-specific crop management practices in the hands of farmers. Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Ortiz, B.V., Morata, G., Kumar, H., Lamba, J., Lena, B.P., Bondesan, L., Sangha, L., Srivastava, P., Duzy, L., Raper, T., Davis, D., 2021. Increasing Adoption of Climate- & Water-Smart Irrigation Practices Among Tennessee Valley Farmers in Alabama & Tennessee: Findings and Lessons Learned. Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Sangha, L., Lamba, J, Kumar, H., Srivastava, P., Prasad, P., Ortiz, B.V., Dougherty, M., 2021. ENSO Forecasts to Plan Water Withdrawals for Irrigation. Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Opportunities
Be a part of the cutting-edge innovations happening at the Precision Ag Lab! We're seeking enthusiastic and committed individuals - volunteers, undergraduate students, visiting scholars, interns, and graduate students - to join our dynamic team. Take this opportunity to contribute, learn, and grow with us. Contact Dr. Hemendra Kumar at hemendra@umd.edu, utilizing the subject line Opportunities-title, and embark on an exciting journey to influence the realm of precision agriculture.
PAL Members
| MS Students | Undergraduate Students | Alumni |
| Abubakar Siddiq Palli | Ananth Sriram | Shivam Sehgal |
| Shreeya Venkatesh Babu |
