Professional Engineer P.E.

Fellow, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Fellow, Environmental and Water Institute of American Society of Civil Engineers

Michael Dukes is an irrigation specialist focusing on efficient use of water in irrigated systems. What does that mean? High-quality water such as potable water in municipal systems such as at homes and businesses or water from the Floridan aquifer in the case of agriculture is often used for irrigation. According to the U. S. Geological Service, Floridians used about 6.4 billion gallons of water a day in 2012. Thirty-nine percent is used for agricultural irrigation and 36% for public supply; however, it is projected that public use will exceed agricultural use in the near future. Due to the need for adequate water to produce food and satisfy domestic uses including landscape irrigation, it is important to maximize the efficient use of water. Dukes and his team are conducting research on high tech irrigation controllers that apply water based on measurements from landscapes. These so-called “smart irrigation controllers” are saving millions of gallons of water each year in Florida and are being adopted across the U.S. Dukes is often consulted by utilities, decision makers, and groups such as the U.S. EPA WaterSense program for technical knowledge on this subject. Similarly, Dukes and his team are using real-time soil moisture sensor readings to linear move variable rate irrigation on corn and peanut to reduce excess water use and potential for nonpoint source pollution.

Dr. Dukes received his PhD in biological and agricultural engineering from North Carolina State University.