Michael J Ottman

Biography

Dr. Michael Ottman is a Cooperative Extension Specialist for Agronomy and faculty member at the University of Arizona School of Plant Sciences.  His research interests include the effects of fertilization and irrigation on crop yield, how climate change will affect crop production in the future, use of proximal sensing for crop management decisions, and modeling crop growth and development.  His Cooperative Extension program uses research based information to improve the efficiency of crop production, particularly in the use of resources such as fertilizer and water.  His work has focused on the irrigated production system of Arizona which is similar to the agricultural systems used in arid regions throughout the world.  His research on fertilizer has focused primarily on nitrogen and phosphorus application to wheat, barley, sorghum, and alfalfa.  He has worked on irrigation management, but in particular he has investigated sub-optimal irrigation strategies for alfalfa and barley in an effort to conserve water.  He has written many publications for agricultural practitioners that are available from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (https://extension.arizona.edu/pubs).  His research has been published primarily in peer-reviewed crop science journals such as Agronomy Journal and Field Crops Research but, as a co-author, he has also published in journals related to climate change, plant biology, and engineering.

Degrees

• Ph.D. Agronomy
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States
• The Effect of Environmental Factors on High Corn Yields
• M.S. Vegetable Crops
• University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
• B.S. Plant Sciences
• University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States