METHODS article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Field Water Management
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fagro.2025.1622260
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Precision Irrigation: Innovative Technologies, AI-Driven Solutions, and Strategies for Widespread AdoptionView all articles
Bridging the Gap Between Water-Saving Technologies and Adoption in Vegetable Farming: Insights from Florida, USA
Provisionally accepted
- 1Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, United States
- 2University of Florida Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Gainesville, Florida, United States
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Globally, agricultural water management faces significant challenges due to uneven water availability, crop diversity, and climate variability. Despite increasing access to smart irrigation technologies, adoption among vegetable farmers remains low. This study examines the willingness of Florida vegetable growers to adopt water-saving irrigation technologies, focusing on socio-economic factors, perceived barriers, and opportunities for enhanced outreach. A structured, pre-tested survey was conducted with commercial vegetable growers across Florida's major vegetable-producing regions, collecting data on irrigation practices, familiarity with technology, satisfaction, and demographic characteristics.Results showed that farm size, education, income, and crop diversity significantly influenced satisfaction with current irrigation practices and willingness to adopt new technologies. Farmers managing multiple crops and small-scale growers expressed a strong interest in adoption, particularly when cost-share or technical assistance programs were available. Common barriers included high initial costs, lack of technical training, and skepticism about the reliability of water-saving technologies. This study highlights the need for targeted outreach strategies considering demographic variability, farm size, and cropping systems. Based on the results, the policy measures that simplify access to incentive information, decision-support tools, and inclusive hands-on training programs can enhance technology adoption. While focused on Florida, the findings reflect broader patterns in adoption behavior across global small-to medium-scale farming systems. These insights are valuable for policymakers, extension agents, and researchers aiming to accelerate the adoption of precision irrigation for climate-resilient agriculture.
Keywords: Precision irrigation, irrigation survey, Water-saving technology, Efficient irrigation management, Technology Adoption
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Athelly, Guzmán, Yu and Watson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sandra M. Guzmán, Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, United States
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