Biography
John is an irrigation and drainage engineer focusing on improving water use productivity in irrigated agriculture systems and minimising the environmental impacts associated with irrigation. John leads the Irrigation Research group of Deakin University in Griffith, NSW, Australia and works closely with industry partners to address challenges faced in Australian and international irrigation systems.
John is currently developing and investigating irrigation design and water management tools and technologies for improving water use efficiency, maximizing production and minimizing the environmental footprint of irrigation across a range of scales, with a particular focus in the Agtech sector. He succesfully developed the IrriSAT Satellite Irrigation Water Management tools which are being used extensively across irrigation industries for irrigation water management and benchmarking irrigation productivity. He currently leads a range of national and international projects focused on irrigation research. These include the development of improved irrigation systems in developing countries for increasing irrigated food production and national rice and cotton industry precision irrigation projects focused on using smart sensing and automation technologies to increase profitability.
Knowledge areas
Irrigation
Farm water management
Hydrology
Agtech
Smart sensing and Automation
Remote Sensing for Agriculture
Drainage and salinity management
Projects
Publications
Smart sensing and automated irrigation for sustainable rice systems: A state of the art review
M Champness, C Ballester-Lurbe, R Filev-Maia, J Hornbuckle
(2023), Vol. 177, pp. 259-285, Advances in Agronomy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, B1
Using Poultry Litter for Cotton Phosphorus Nutrition in Australia
R Awale, J Hornbuckle, W Quayle
(2023), Vol. 115, pp. 909-931`, Agronomy Journal, C1
Effect of Soil Moisture Deficit on Aerobic Rice in Temperate Australia
M Champness, C Ballester, J Hornbuckle
(2023), Vol. 13, Agronomy, C1
Decision Support Tool to Predict Panicle Initiation in Aerobic Rice
Matthew Champness, Carlos Ballester, John Hornbuckle
(2023), Vol. 13, pp. 1-9, Agronomy, Basel, Switzerland, C1
Matthew Champness, Leigh Vial, Carlos Ballester, John Hornbuckle
(2023), Vol. 13, pp. 1-16, Agriculture, Basel, Switzerland, C1
M Champness, C Ballester Lurbe, R Maia, J Hornbuckle
(2023), Vol. 17, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Bellingham, WA., C1
Blue-green water utilization in rice-fish cultivation towards sustainable food production
N Ahmed, J Hornbuckle, G Turchini
(2022), pp. 1-16, Ambio, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
Rodrigo Filev Maia, Carlos Ballester Lurbe, John Hornbuckle
(2022), Vol. 13, pp. 1-16, Frontiers in Plant Science, Lausanne, Switzerland, C1
C Ballester, J Hornbuckle, J Brinkhoff, W Quayle
(2021), Vol. 248, Agricultural Water Management, C1
C Ballester, J Hornbuckle, T Inthavong, V Lim, J McCormick, A Molesworth, C Oeurng, W Quayle, V Seng, P Sengxua, V Sihathep, V Touch, C Vote, P Eberbach
(2021), Vol. 11, Agronomy, C1
R Filev Maia, C Ballester Lurbe, A Agrahari Baniya, J Hornbuckle
(2020), Vol. 20, pp. 1-21, Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), Switzerland, C1
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, G Podger, R White, S Seaton, J Perraud, J Rahman
(2020), pp. 2700-2706, MODSIM 2005 : Proceedings of the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Advances and Applications for Management and Decision Making, Melbourne, Victoria, E1-1
Use of SIRMOD as a quasi real time surface irrigation decision support system
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, R Faulkner
(2020), pp. 217-223, MODSIM 2005 : Proceedings of the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Advances and Applications for Management and Decision Making, Melbourne, Vic., E1-1
C Ballester, J Brinkhoff, W Quayle, J Hornbuckle
(2019), Vol. 11, Remote Sensing, C1
Irrigation management strategies to increase water productivity in Oryza sativa (rice) in Uruguay
G Carracelas, J Hornbuckle, J Rosas, A Roel
(2019), Vol. 222, pp. 161-172, Agricultural water management, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
C Ballester, C Vote, J Hornbuckle, T Inthavong, V Lim, C Oeurng, W Quayle, V Seng, P Sengxua, V Sihathep, V Touch, P Eberbach
(2019), Vol. 9, Agriculture (Switzerland), C1
Irrigation management and variety effects on rice grain arsenic levels in Uruguay
G Carracelas, J Hornbuckle, M Verger, R Huertas, S Riccetto, F Campos, A Roel
(2019), Vol. 1, JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH, C1
Soil moisture forecasting for irrigation recommendation
J Brinkhoff, J Hornbuckle, C Ballester Lurbe
(2019), pp. 385-390, AGRICONTROL 2019 : Proceedings of the 6th IFAC Conference on Sensing, Control and Automation Technologies for Agriculture AGRICONTROL 2019 Sydney, Australia, 4–6 December 2019, Sydney, New South Wales, E1
J Brinkhoff, J Hornbuckle, T Dowling
(2018), Vol. 18, pp. 1-14, Sensors, Basel, Switzerland, C1
Assessment of aquatic weed in irrigation channels using UAV and satellite imagery
J Brinkhoff, J Hornbuckle, J Barton
(2018), Vol. 10, Water (Switzerland), C1
C Ballester, J Hornbuckle, J Brinkhoff, J Smith, W Quayle
(2017), Vol. 9, Remote Sensing, C1
Characterization of WiFi signal range for agricultural WSNs
J Brinkhoff, J Hornbuckle
(2017), pp. 1-6, APCC 2017 : 2017 23rd Asia-Pacific Conference on Communications, Perth, W.A., E1
WiField, an IEEE 802.11-based agricultural sensor data gathering and logging platform
James Brinkhoff, John Hornbuckle, Wendy Quayle, C Ballester Lurbe, Tom Dowling
(2017), pp. 1-6, ICST 2017 : Proceedings of the 2017 Eleventh International Conference on Sensing Technology, Sydney, N.S.W., E1
S Khov, C Vote, J Hornbuckle, I Inthavong, C Oeurng, P Sengxua, V Sihathep, L Song, P Eberbach
(2017), pp. 223-229, MODSIM 2017 : Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Hobart, Tasmania, E1
Preformed and sprayable polymeric mulch film to improve agricultural water use efficiency
R Adhikari, K Bristow, P Casey, G Freischmidt, J Hornbuckle, B Adhikari
(2016), Vol. 169, pp. 1-13, Agricultural water management, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
A method for comprehensively assessing economic trade-offs of new irrigation developments
C Petheram, J Hughes, L McKellar, S Kim, L Holz, P Poulton, M Kehoe, S Podger, G Podger, D McJannet, J Hornbuckle
(2016), Vol. 30, pp. 4617-4634, Water resources management, Berlin, Germany, C1
Murrumbidgee irrigation operation and planning system (MIOPS)
L Williams, C Smith, J Ayats, X Valls, J Hornbuckle
(2015), pp. 339-346, HWRS 2015 : The art and science of water : Proceedings of the 36th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Hobart, Tas., E1-1
IrriSAT - weather based scheduling and benchmarking technology
J Montgomery, J Hornbuckle, I Hume, J Vleeshouwer
(2015), ASA 2015: Proceedings of the 17th Australian Agronomy Conference: "Building Productive, Diverse and Sustainable Landscapes", Hobart, Tasmania, E1-1
J Vleeshouwer, N Car, J Hornbuckle
(2015), Vol. 448, pp. 187-195, ISESS 2015 : Proceedings of the 11th IFIP WG5.11 International Symposium, Melbourne, Vic., E1-1
Using soil surface temperature to assess soil evaporation in a drip irrigated vineyard
B Kerridge, J Hornbuckle, E Christen, R Faulkner
(2013), Vol. 116, pp. 128-141, Agricultural water management, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
Remote sensing for viticultural research and production
L Johnson, R Nemani, J Hornbuckle, W Bastiaanssen, B Thoreson, B Tisseyre, L Pierce
(2012), pp. 209-226, The geography of wine : regions, terroir and techniques, Dordrecht , Netherlands, B1-1
N Car, E Christen, J Hornbuckle, G Moore
(2012), Vol. 84, pp. 132-143, Computers and electronics in agriculture, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
Analytical solution for drainflows from bilevel multiple-drain subsurface drainage systems
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, R Faulkner
(2012), Vol. 138, pp. 642-650, Journal of irrigation and drainage engineering, Reston, Va., C1-1
Proposed project methods for the Flinders and Gilbert agricultural resource assessment
C Petheram, I Watson, P Stone, M Barber, R Bartley, D Brough, D Burrows, N Crossman, D Dutta, M Grundy, J Hornbuckle, I Jolly, J Lerat, D McJannet, T Munday, R Schmidt, N Waltham, T Webster
(2012), pp. 733-741, HWRS 2012 : Proceedings of the 34th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Sydney, N.S.W., E1-1
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, N Car, D Smith, I Goodwin, L McClymont, B Kerridge
(2012), Vol. 931, pp. 119-126, Acta Horticulturae, Lisbon, PORTUGAL, E1-1
Irrigation modelling language for decision support
N Car, J Hornbuckle, E Christen, G Moore
(2009), pp. 484-490, 18th World IMACS Congress and MODSIM 2009 - International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Interfacing Modelling and Simulation with Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Proceedings, Cairns, Australia, E1-1
The NAFE'06 data set: Towards soil moisture retrieval at intermediate resolution
O Merlin, J Walker, J Kalma, E Kim, J Hacker, R Panciera, R Young, G Summerell, J Hornbuckle, M Hafeez, T Jackson
(2008), Vol. 31, pp. 1444-1455, Advances in Water Resources, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
Evaluating a multi-level subsurface drainage system for improved drainage water quality
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, R Faulkner
(2007), Vol. 89, pp. 208-216, Agricultural water management, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
The national airborne field experiment data sets
J Walker, J Balling, M Bell, A Berg, M Berger, D Biasoni, E Botha, G Boulet, Y Chen, E Christen, R DeJeu, P DeRosnay, C Dever, C Draper, J Fenollar, C Gomez, J Grant, J Hacker, M Hafeez, G Hancock, D Hansen, L Holz, J Hornbuckle, R Hurkmans, T Jackson, J Johanson, P Jones, S Jones, J Kalma, Y Kerr, E Kim, V Kuzmin, V Lakshmi, E Lopez, V Maggioni, P Maisongrande, C Martinez, L McKee, O Merlin, I Mladenova, P O'Neill, R Panciera, V Paruscio, R Pipunic, W Rawls, M Rinaldi, C Rüdiger, P Saco, K Saleh, S Savstrup-Kristensen, V Shoemark, N Skou, S Soebjaerg, G Summerell, A Teuling, H Thompson, M Thyer, J Toyra, A Tsang, T Wells, P Wursteisen, R Young
(2007), pp. 2625-2631, MODSIM07 - Land, Water and Environmental Management: Integrated Systems for Sustainability, Proceedings, Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND, E1-1
Tools for improving water use efficiency: Irrigation informatics implemented via SMS
N Car, E Christen, J Hornbuckle, C Bartlett, G Moore
(2007), pp. 671-677, MODSIM07 - Land, Water and Environmental Management: Integrated Systems for Sustainability, Proceedings, Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND, E1-1
Towards a new generation of Irrigation Decision Support Systems - Irrigation informatics?
N Car, E Christen, J Hornbuckle, G Moore
(2007), pp. 135-141, MODSIM07 - Land, Water and Environmental Management: Integrated Systems for Sustainability, Proceedings, Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND, E1-1
Controlled drainage for improved water management in arid regions irrigated agriculture
J Ayars, E Christen, J Hornbuckle
(2006), Vol. 86, pp. 128-139, Agricultural water management, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
J Hornbuckle, E Christen, J Ayars, R Faulkner
(2005), Vol. 19, pp. 145-159, Irrigation and drainage systems, New York, N.Y., C1-1
Subsurface drainage design and management in irrigated areas of Australia
E Christen, J Ayars, J Hornbuckle
(2001), Vol. 21, pp. 35-43, Irrigation science, Berlin, Germany, C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Maximising on-farm irrigation profitability - southern connected systems
Prof John Hornbuckle, A/Prof Wendy Quayle, A/Prof Lloyd Chua
CRDC Grant - Research - Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- 2018: $160,000
- 2017: $410,000
- 2016: $180,000
Developing and testing tools for measuring and managing variability in rice
Prof John Hornbuckle
RIRDC Grant - Research - Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
- 2018: $64,034
- 2016: $100,000
- 2015: $236,509
Improving water and nutrient management to enable double cropping in the rice lowlands of Lao and Cambodia
Prof John Hornbuckle, A/Prof Wendy Quayle
ACIAR Grant - Research - Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
- 2017: $190,751
- 2016: $542,261
CRDC DAN 1505 Benchmarking water use efficiency and crop productivity in the Australian Cotton Industry
Prof John Hornbuckle
CRDC Grant - Research - Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- 2019: $25,207
- 2018: $108,618
- 2017: $164,338
- 2016: $25,203
Changes in Rice Water Use - Scoping study
Prof John Hornbuckle
RIRDC Grant - Research - Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
- 2016: $30,000
Precise real-time automated cotton irrigation for improved water productivity
Dr James Brinkhoff, Prof John Hornbuckle
CRDC Grant - Research - Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- 2019: $22,310
- 2018: $44,621
Can Freshwater Plants Act as a Feed Supplement to Reduce Methane Emissions from Cattle ?
Prof Rebecca Lester, Dr Ashley Macqueen, Mr David Dodemaide, Mr Michael Smith, Prof John Hornbuckle
AgriFutures Australia
- 2022: $43,840
- 2021: $93,160
Optimising irrigation performance in bankless channel cotton layouts to improve water management and nitrogen use efficiency.
A/Prof Wendy Quayle, Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe, Dr Jackie Webb
CRDC Grant - Research - Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- 2024: $100,000
- 2023: $149,999
- 2022: $99,999
Advancing automation and smart sensing irrigation technologies in the rice industry.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Adpr Rodrigo Filev Maia, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
AgriFutures Australia
- 2023: $209,202
- 2022: $55,787
Ensuring a sustainable water future: Developing next generation rice water use strategies.
Prof John Hornbuckle
AgriFutures Australia
- 2024: $219,650
Other Public Sector Funding
Improved Irrigation Water Management to increase rice productivity in Cambodia
Prof John Hornbuckle
CSIRO
- 2015: $21,709
Peer review for satellite based estimation methods for crop water requirement & Rootzone drainage
Prof John Hornbuckle
MCMA Grant - Research - Mallee Catchment Management Authority
- 2019: $1,560
- 2018: $4,000
- 2017: $4,000
Understanding drill seeding of rice (DSR) techniques and business models in southern lao PDR for sustaining adoption.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Mr Leigh Vial
ACIAR Grant - Research - Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
- 2020: $10,000
- 2018: $150,000
Assessment of irrigation best practices for the Mallee.
Prof John Hornbuckle
MCMA Grant - Research - Mallee Catchment Management Authority
- 2019: $20,000
New tech integrated smart sensing & automation for cotton.
Prof John Hornbuckle
Smarter Irrigation for Profit-Phase 2
- 2022: $36,974
- 2021: $110,710
- 2020: $128,210
- 2019: $72,855
Smart irrigation control for water and labour savings in rice growing systems.
Prof John Hornbuckle
Smarter Irrigation for Profit-Phase 2
- 2022: $83,714
- 2021: $299,144
- 2020: $341,057
- 2019: $171,486
Options for continuous improvement of Irrigation Best Management Practices for the Victorian Mallee
Prof John Hornbuckle
MCMA Grant - Research - Mallee Catchment Management Authority
- 2020: $25,000
Developing real time and strategic water use and solute monitoring platform for almonds.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
- 2022: $24,999
- 2021: $24,999
Irrigation management technology and agronomy packages for enabling aerobic rice production in southern Australia.
Prof John Hornbuckle
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
- 2024: $170,939
- 2023: $169,700
- 2022: $592,359
Determining minimum irrigation requirements of almond trees grown on non-traditional horticultural soils in the Riverina.
Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe, Prof John Hornbuckle
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
- 2022: $109,000
Water and soil amendment strategies to improve almond productivity.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
Innovation Connections
- 2023: $49,999
Enhancement of Remote Sensing tools for Irrigation Water Use Monitoring.
Prof John Hornbuckle
Department of Natural Resources Access Regulator (NSW)
- 2024: $94,500
- 2023: $144,500
Adapting a spatial Irrigation Tool
Prof John Hornbuckle
Dept of Tourism Innovation & Sport (Sport and Recreation) Qld
- 2023: $100,000
Industry and Other Funding
Soils Under an Irrigated Environment
Prof John Hornbuckle
Irrigated Cropping Council
- 2017: $36,683
- 2016: $73,366
- 2015: $77,159
Goanna telemetry Industry funded PhD Research Scholarship
Prof John Hornbuckle
Goanna Telemetry Systems Pty Ltd
- 2018: $33,333
- 2017: $33,333
- 2016: $33,333
Scoping study on aquatic weed management in channels of Murrumbidgee Irrigation
Prof John Hornbuckle, A/Prof Wendy Quayle
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited
- 2018: $25,000
- 2017: $25,000
Provision of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled Redox and Soil moisture monitoring network
Dr James Brinkhoff, Prof John Hornbuckle
Western Murray Land Improvement Group
- 2017: $11,000
Investigation of multispectral & thermal drone based technology for improving vineyard management and sampling strategies.
Prof John Hornbuckle
Casella Wines Pty Limited
- 2018: $6,000
Monitoring and managing aquatic weeds in irrigation channels - PhD
Prof John Hornbuckle
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited
- 2019: $28,000
Developing real time and strategic water use and solute monitoring platform for almonds.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
Kooba Ag Pty Ltd
- 2022: $14,996
- 2021: $35,000
Water and soil amendment strategies to improve almond productivity.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
Kooba Ag Pty Ltd
- 2023: $15,000
- 2022: $35,000
Identification of optimum gypsum rates & frequency of application to amend sodic red clay soils for almond production & assessment of new technology for continuation monitoring of tree water status.
Prof John Hornbuckle, Dr Carlos Ballester Lurbe
Kooba Ag Pty Ltd
- 2024: $50,000
Supervisions
Matthew Robert Champness
Thesis entitled: Rice Irrigation 4.0: Water Saving Rice Production in Temperate Australia
Doctor of Philosophy (Life & Env), School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Gonzalo Carracelas
Thesis entitled: Rice irrigation management effects on water productivity, grain quality and food safety
Master of Science (Ecology & Environment), School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Anika Molesworth
Thesis entitled: Optimising poultry litter as an organic amendment in cropping systems
Doctor of Philosophy (Life & Env), School of Life and Environmental Sciences