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Dr. James R. Mahan, is a research plant physiologist with the USDA/ARS at the Plant Stress and Water Conservation Laboratory in Lubbock, TX.

Early life and education
Mahan attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University SWOSU and received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He then earned his Masters of Science and Ph.D. in plant physiology from Texas AM

Career
In the mid 1980s, Dr. Mahan and a team of USDA/ARS researchers comprised of Dan Upchurch, Donald Wanjura, and John Burke developed a method and device, named BIOTIC, for managing the irrigation of plants using crop canopy temperature measurements. Their BIOTIC process is radically different from other temperature-based irrigation schedulers in that it compares plant temperatures to an estimate of the plant’s optimal temperature. In its simplest form, the BIOTIC process continuously measures the temperature of the plant and calls for irrigation when the temperature is above the optimal value. A temperature monitoring system was developed as part of the technology transfer process. This novel method and device was patented on July 23rd, 1996 as “Biologically-Identified Optimal Temperature Interactive Console (BIOTIC) for Managing Irrigation.”

Dr. Mahan's research has broadly considered the response of plants to water deficits and thermal stress under irrigated and rain-fed conditions. The focus has been on the development of metabolic indicators of stress. As agricultural production transitions from water inputs designed to prevent water deficits to a future where water deficits will be unavoidable sustainability will be defined by our ability to identify, quantify and manage water deficits.

His recent efforts have focused on the use of seasonal patterns of near-continuous canopy temperature measurements as an indicator of water use, water status and metabolic function in crops. Dr. Mahan has developed the first low cost wireless infrared thermometry system for irrigation management and research. This system is marketed in the US by Smartfield (www.smartfield.com).

While the primary focus has been on cotton, other crops investigated include: corn, sorghum, peanut, forage grasses, wheat, sesame, and palmer amaranth.

Mahan has ongoing collaborations with scientists and students from University of Sydney USyd, University of Western Sydney UWS and the Australian Cotton Research Institute in Narrabri Narrabri.