Annual/Termination Reports:

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Report Information

Participants

Daugherty, LeRoy (Administrative Advisor) (ldaugher@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; Fares, Ali (Chairman) (afares@hawaii.edu) - University of Hawaii; Román-Paoli, Elvin (Vice Chairman) (eroman@uprm.edu) - University of Puerto Rico; Kaleita, Amy (Secretary) (kaleita@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University; Alam, Mahbub (malam@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University; Lamm, Freddie (flamm@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University; Porter, Dana (dporter@tamu.edu) - Texas AgriLife Research; Parsons, Lawrence (lparsons@ufl.edu) - University of Florida; Rein, Bradley (brein@nifa.usda.gov) NIFA Representative - USDA NIFA; Shackel, Kenneth (kashackel@ucdavis.edu) - University of California, Davis; Shock, Clinton (Clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu) - Oregon State University; Shukla, Manoj (shuklamk@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; Smeal, Daniel (dsmeal@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; Stanley, Craig (cdstan@ufl.edu) - University of Florida; Zimmerman, Thomas (tzimmer@uvi.edu) - University of the Virgin Islands

Brief Summary of Minutes

Monday November 16, 2009

Ali Fares called the meeting to order at 8:20 am with a welcome and a hearty thanks to Elvin for his organization of the meeting. LeRoy Daugherty congratulated the group for the project renewal, and thanked Freddie for his leadership in writing the project summary. Dr. Daugherty shared copies of the project summaries for W2128 and W1128, and the 2008 report of activities and accomplishments for W1128.

Brad Rein gave the federal agency update. CSREES is now officially National Institute of Food and Agriculture. A main focus will be on growing the agency: big science, big issues, funding that attracts high-level scientists. Dr. Rein outlined four sub-institutes (food production and sustainability; bioenergy, climate, and environment; food safety and nutrition; youth and community development) and noted that each have the same three functions (research, extension, education). Dr. Daugherty encouraged subgroups to put in AFRI proposals where fitting to leverage funding from Multistate projects.

Ken Shackel presented on some California research intended to answer the question, how much of the water balance do you need to quantify in order to be able to effectively and efficiently schedule irrigation? He noted that conventional wisdom says ET is all you need - and probably that's the most important, but it isn't ALL of it. Their project is attempting to integrate a lot of levels of information to try to get at how the plant is responding to irrigation & to environmental factors. They are also working on measuring plant water status and comparing to RS-derived ET estimates.

Dr. Shackel also shared results of orchard mortality studies motivated by the California drought. For growers facing extreme water restrictions, how little water one can use in an orchard and still have the trees survive? Preliminary results suggest that trees learn to regulate their water use if they are managed properly.

Dana Porter shared technology transfer efforts in Texas. A main focus is on the Ogallala Aquifer Program (research & extension education). They have produced web-based tools for ET estimation as well as irrigation training programs & trainings for technical service providers. Dr. Porter noted that the response has been very positive. A big challenge has been trying to clarify and standardize terminology (eg a lot of confusion between subirrigation and subsurface irriagation). She explained that SDI has become very popular in the 9 counties surrounding Lubbock. The group discussed whether we should contribute to the Wikipedia drip irrigation page.

Research from New Mexico showed that variability in stem water potential increases dramatically with increasing mean values. Just before dawn the sample (3 trees x 3 measurements) observations are almost identical, but is as much as 5 units by noon. The group had a brief discussion of terminology and measurement. For true stem water potential measurements, a leaf must be bagged/non-transpiring (10 mins or longer) and interior, lower canopy leaves are ideal.

New Mexico also studied nitrate leaching and irrigation efficiencies in onions and pecans, in chloride tracer research that asked, how far does applied fertilizer go? Results were applied to historical fertilizer application data to approximate total nitrate leaching. But when groundwater nitrate is monitored, concentrations are very low, so somewhere nitrate is being converted - probably to nitrous oxide, suggesting soil doesn't have to be saturated for denitrification to occur. Microbial activity is theoretically quite small because these soils have so little carbon, so, more study is necessary to figure out where energy is coming from and how denitrification is happening.

The group discussed the merits and downsides of pressure bomb technology. Dr. Fares suggested that the pressure bomb is, like neutron probe, cumbersome and impractical for growers. Dr. Shackel disagreed, noting that impacts of having the data are so substantial that a grower "can't afford not to" monitor this way. With effective dataset building and analysis some growers can reduce observation "energy" required. Other growers hire people to do this monitoring. Dr. Fares noted that somehow the demands on the grower of this type of monitoring needs to be reduced. Many can't or don't want to put in the effort necessary to be able to monitor and use this information. Dr. Porter suggested that this is why models are so popular - they don't require any observations. Dr. Shackel emphasized that it's important to have a check for models, and that something that is needed is a good model that tells you when to start irrigating.

New Mexico presented irrigation scheduling data and growth assessment in poplars, and the group discussed poplar irrigation issues, and the uses and benefits of poplars. Further presentation was on xeriscaping and vegetables: developing crop coefficients (or maybe, "irrigation coefficients") for mixed canopy and non-standard ET conditions.

The group discussed that the concept of crop coefficient is not valid for RDI, because a crop coefficient is ultimately based on fully watered conditions. But there are stress coefficients that might make the method adjustable? Perhaps this question can be more fully addressed during happy hour.

Finally, New Mexico noted the need for accurate estimates of ET and IR during plant establishment, and evaluation of drip emitters under very low pressure for gravity systems.

Oregon presented on calibrating Watermark sensors on sandy soils, and comparing to other soil water devices (including temperature compensation). Dr. Shock also discussed that slight amounts of water stress tends to have greater symptoms of virus and insect damage.

Oregon has been investigating irrigation for wildflower seed production. They are trying SDI for this purpose, just to give a little water, applied deep, and not stimulating to weeds because these plants are not very competitive. Dr. Shock reported that so far this strategy seems to work well.

Finally, Oregon is involved in a project on phytopharmaceuticals - irrigating plants that produce precursors to cancer-inhibiting enzymes.

Kansas and Texas reported on collaborative work in joint technology transfer projects. They secured funding from here and there and had field days and other activities this past summerSo fra the response has been very favorable and demand for expertise is high.

They are having a session at the upcoming IA meeting, "SDI in the great plains" with 8 different papers plus some posters from the project. The project has done some "branding" - logo, shirts, etc. They have tracked the technology transfer efforts made (publication, poster presentation, etc.) and are on track to meet or exceed goals.

The group discussed difficulties in monitoring and managing non-uniformity in water application in SDI; The group particularly noted the challenges of rodent damage - nobody has a great answer. Several helpful practices include baiting field edges, trapping, keeping the area wet if possible. Definitely don't install in fall and then not use it until spring because they'll have all winter to munch on it in fluffy trenched soil.

California noted collaborative work with their SCRI project. The group noted that large projects need project managers (usually not scientist or academic). The group discussed integration of data layers to develop grower-friendly maps to guide irrigation decisions, and to model or predict yield based on remotely sensed data.

Tuesday November 17, 2009

Amy Kaleita reported on efforts to produce high-resolution soil moisture map from sparse point measurements in Iowa.

Craig Stanley shared TMDL pressures from Florida, where growers are encouraged to adhere to BMPs by some regulatory presumptions of innocence if they are in compliance. Accordingly, Florida has had BMP workshops for growers. State priority areas include improved water use and water re-use, real-time monitoring of soil moisture and nutrient status.

Dr. Stanley also shared projects on fertilization and irrigation of vegetables and horticultural plants, as well as septic system effluent management for nitrogen reduction. Installation of individual active nitrogen removal systems very expensive, so researchers are looking into passive systems, which reduce number of pumps etc. and thus keep costs low. Effluent can be distributed through drip systems over an engineered turf system.

Larry Parsons reported on projects on automatic citrus irrigation, in which soil sensors are hooked to wireless radio and cell phone systems to transmit data. Irrigation systems are tapped into data and a trigger point initiates an irrigation event. This allows self-regulative responsiveness to rain, so the system is flexible and nicely accommodates frequency irregularities.

Dr. Parsons also shared projects on using pulse irrigation for sandy soils, blueberry production, sandy soils amended with pine bark (to lower the pH), and different soil-sensor based irrigation strategies.

The group proceeded to the business meeting portion with a discussion of filing the project report covering the past year. The group also confirm last year's officer election decision that Manoj Shukla will be the next Secretary for 2010-11. It was decided that next years meeting will be held in Des Moines, IA, Nov 17-19, 2010 (to end midday on Friday).

State reports continued with Elvin Román-Paoli discussing the response of avocados to microirrigation treatments in Puerto Rico. He also shared results of studies on fertilization and microirrigation treatments on pineapples, for which high levels of fertilization are common. Growers do not generally think irrigation will pay off, but the study results show differently.

Ali Fares shared results of modeled carbon cycling, CO2 emissions in tropical soils/weather conditions. They also assessed the effect of tillage type and extent on CO2 emissions.

Tom Zimmerman shared a project on genetically engineered rice production in semi-arid Virgin Islands  because nobody else is growing rice on the island it can be genetically isolated. The company initially wanted to do flood irrigation but that would require too much water. Researchers compared drip irrigation and small plots of flood irrigation and found no significant difference between drip and flood. The group then discussed water needs of rice. Dr. Shock noted rice is very sensitive to water stress at flowering. Often irrigation water is just used as weed control or to limit tillers.

Freddie Lamm presented on the SDI system at the Colby (KS) research site, which is still going strong after 20 years. Some research suggests SDI was higher-yielding (because of higher number of kernels per ear) under normal to wetter conditions, and LEPA sprinkler was better under extreme drought.

Discussion: is the real response of yield to seasonal irrigation linear with a plateau, and just averages to look like a diminishing returns curve? Perhaps the distinction is important because it means that the average curve is perhaps representative of the long term, but not representative of the way the relationship actually functions within a given year. But perhaps the distinction is not significant because the using real data and fitting models, there is often no significant difference in the fits of a linear and curvilinear function, and of course any data will have scatter/variability that doesn't fit right along any function. Also, the likelihood that a field will be uniform is small - so probably this accounts for some curvilinearity in reality also. And of course, linear or curvilinear relationship does not mean cause and effect - no matter how you slice it, ET doesn't cause yield. Manoj: linear relationship is just a convenience, because it violates reality at both ends, it often means that at zero water you have negative yield, and that at infinite water you have infinite yield. Eventually the discussion reached the point of diminishing returns.

Accomplishments

Objective 1. To identify and assess the significance of barriers to adoption of microirrigation.<br /> <br /> Kansas and Texas initiated a two year long SDI technology transfer effort. Field days summarizing many years of SDI research were held in Colby, Kansas and Halfway, Texas. These events allowed interaction between University staff, USDA staff and producers which helped to identify successes and continuing challenges.<br /> <br /> Objective 2. To reduce the technical barriers associate with microirrigation system design, performance, and maintenance.<br /> <br /> For the fourth year corn yield was not negatively affected by various emitter spacings of 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 or 0.4 m on a deep well-drained soil in a semi-arid, summer pattern rainfall climate in Kansas. There is some soil water redistribution occurring along the subsurface dripline that helps to mitigate application differences caused by the different emitter spacings.<br /> <br /> A summary of pressure and dripline flow rates over a twenty year period for SDI research plots at KSU indicates performance for 22 of 23 different plots are within +/- 5% of their original value. Long life SDI systems allow high microirrigation costs to be amortized over many years.<br /> <br /> A subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system, installed at the AgCARES research farm in Dawson County, Texas, includes approximately 20-acres divided into 22 zones. Each zone is individually metered allowing for multiple irrigation treatments (irrigation rates and times). Of the zones, 18 zones have alternate furrow (80-inch) tape lateral spacing, and 4 zones have every row (40-inch) tape lateral spacing. The inclusion of both tape spacing designs allows for side-by-side comparison of irrigation systems designs. The relatively large size of the zones (8 rows by approximately 823 ft. for the every row tape spacing; 16 rows by approximately 823 ft. for the alternate furrow tape spacing) allows for multiple research treatments within each zone, and hence for investigation of interactions between multiple agronomic X irrigation factors. <br /> <br /> In 2005 -2008, multiple cotton varieties, plant populations, and irrigation rates were addressed in studies conducted at the location. This work complements related studies conducted at research locations (Halfway, TX and Bushland, TX) with finer textured soils (Amarillo fine sandy loam at AgCARES vs. Pullman clay loam at the other sites). Soil sampling was initiated in early 2006 to monitor salinity accumulation patterns in every row vs. alternate furrow placed subsurface drip irrigation laterals. Soil moisture monitoring and crop growth stage monitoring data from 2006 - 2008 will be used to improve understanding of water movement and root extraction patterns, as well as help to improve crop models used in ET-based irrigation scheduling. This study was concluded with the 2008 crop season; data analysis and results interpretation are ongoing.<br /> <br /> In TX, a study is underway to evaluate emission rates through several types of drip emitters at relatively low pressures. This study will provide information with respect to using elevation head to pressurize drip distribution systems, including tank-stored harvested rainwater, for landscaping applications. Rainwater harvesting is gaining popularity as a means to meet part of the landscape irrigation demand. <br /> <br /> A similar evaluation was conducted at Farmington, NM to compare the emitter outputs of a rigid PE dripline and a drip tape at two different pressures (10 psi and gravity-fed 2.5 psi). Mean emitter outputs of both products were at or near advertised (0.36 gph for the drip tape and 0.50 gph for the rigid PE) at 10 psi but decreased by more than 80% (to 0.05 and 0.09 gph, respectively) at 2.5 psi. Output uniformity decreased with lower pressure in the drip tape but was unaffected by pressure in the rigid PE. Research will continue in 2010 to evaluate the emitter-output vs. pressure variability of several point- source emitters. <br /> <br /> Objective 3. To reduce existing water and nutrient management barriers associated with microirrigation.<br /> <br /> In NY, research continued on documenting water use in a cool humid climate and extending the information to apple and fruit growers. Water use by wine grapes was measured with sap flow gauges that were calibrated for short periods with canopy gas exchange chambers (Intrigliolo et al.,2008). The mid-season Kc values varied daily from 0.25 to 0.8, but averaged 0.4 to 0.5. Unlike apple, it appears that an ETo x Kc approach is useful in NY weather conditions. A second approach for regulation of irrigation is plant water stress sensing. In collaboration with a microfluidics chemical engineer, a microtensiometer sensor is being engineered in a nanofabrication facility at Cornell University. The sensor is designed to be embedded in the wood of a perennial plant and monitor the stem water potential continuously.<br /> <br /> In Idaho, research and extension work evaluating the performance of Decagon soil water sensors and data loggers was expanded this year. Spring and fall soil sampling to obtain gravimetric soil water content at 6-inch increments to soil depth or 4 feet maximum depth allowed a water balance to be computed. Neutron access tubes were also installed on several fields to obtain an additional soil water content measurement.<br /> <br /> This was also the first of two years of USDA-NRCS CIG funding to evaluate farmer acceptance and performance of an on-line irrigation scheduling procedure developed at Oregon State University under Idaho climate, soil and crop conditions. Neutron probe access tubes were installed on all fields with readings taken to 5 feet or to an impeding soil layer if encountered first. Watermark sensors with Hansen data loggers were also installed on many of the fields.<br /> <br /> In Kansas, corn was grown with subsurface drip irrigation to determine the effect of pre-anthesis water stress. Summarizing nine years of data from two different studies, corn grain yield was only affected by pre-anthesis water stress in only three years. Grain yields were highly correlated with the number of corn kernels per unit land area which suggests that this is the factor that must be optimized during the pre- and near anthesis growth period. The results indicate that corn has great ability to tolerate pre-anthesis water stress provided the water deficits can be quickly relieved through irrigation near anthesis.<br /> <br /> In CA, an experiment was conducted to establish drought-year drip irrigation recommendations for tree survival in almonds. This project was funded by the CA almond industry in response to a severe state-wide water shortage in the 2009 season. Three irrigation regimes (0", 5"and 10") were compared to full irrigation (40"), and additional sub-plot canopy treatments designed to reduce canopy water demand (50% canopy removal, whitewash spray) were imposed. Yield and nut size effects were measured and will be reported at industry-wide meetings in December, 2009, and tree survival and carryover yield effects will be measured in the 2010 season.<br /> <br /> The Texas High Plains Evapotranspiration Network, administered jointly through the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centers at Amarillo and Lubbock, has added new weather stations at Pecos (in West Texas) and Lockney (in the Texas Panhandle) and is making plans to incorporate additional stations/networks in West Texas in the near future. Field research continues with project support from the USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Initiative and with project funding from the Texas Water Development Board to address technical and data issues in ET networks statewide. In addition to hardware and ET network operations and management, new online ET-based irrigation scheduling tools and information resources are under development. Extension programs (producer meetings, county agent training, publications, etc.) are promoting adoption and proficiency in application of irrigation scheduling and other best management practices.<br /> <br /> SDI research at the AgCARES and Helms research farms in Dawson and Hale counties, respectively, continues to be scheduled and/or interpreted with respect to ETc using data acquired through onsite weather stations. These data are available online through the Texas High Plains ET Network website, http://txhighplainset.tamu.edu. <br /> <br /> An irrigation training program was developed to provide educational opportunities and informational resources to support efficient irrigation technologies and practices. A curriculum guide and resource compilation in print and electronic formats were used in six training events in Texas in 2008 and 2009. Over 350 participants attended irrigation conferences in Lubbock, Mercedes, Chillicothe, Sinton, Hondo and Amarillo. Target audiences included progressive agricultural producers, technical service providers, agencies, agricultural consultants, irrigation professionals and extension educators. According to participant surveys, 84% of attendees indicated they gained knowledge in one or more core subject matter areas, 57% indicated intention to adopt best management practices, and 75% expected to derive economic benefit from applying the knowledge and/or adopting identified practices. Continuing Education Units were offered for Texas Department of Agriculture Licensed Pesticide Applicators, Texas Certified Crop Adviser Program licensed Certified Crop Advisers, and Irrigation Association licensed Certified Irrigation Designers and Certified Agricultural Irrigation Specialists. Subject matter included soil moisture management; evapotranspiration-based irrigation scheduling; low pressure center pivot irrigation (LEPA, LESA, MESA) and subsurface drip irrigation technologies, management, maintenance and trouble-shooting; crop-specific irrigation management for key crops, tailored by region (cotton, grain and forage crops in the Texas High Plains, South Plains and Rolling Plains); USDA-NRCS EQIP cost share program requirements; and water-related regulatory and legislative issues. <br /> <br /> Declining water resources and water-limiting agricultural production conditions in the Ogallala Aquifer Region continue to place pressure on irrigators to manage irrigation efficiently. When properly designed, installed, maintained and managed, subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) can be a highly efficient irrigation method. Obstacles to adoption of SDI include need for information on SDI system design, maintenance and management. <br /> <br /> A collaboration between faculty of Kansas State University, Texas AgriLife Research, Texas AgriLife Extension Service and USDA-ARS at Bushland, Texas is developed educational materials and events through a technology transfer effort designed to remove informational barriers to adoption of SDI; increase awareness of advances in SDI; promote appropriate application and management of SDI; and promote SDI research programs. Educational events include field days and workshops. This year-long technology transfer effort is funded in part by the USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Initiative Program, with supplemental funding from irrigation industry. Freddie Lamm (Kansas State University) and Dana Porter (Texas AgriLife Extension Service) are co-PIs on this project, but it is truly a team effort involving KSU faculty Mahbub Alam and Dan Rogers; Texas AgriLife Research Engineer James Bordovsky; Texas AgriLife Extension Serivce Irrigation Program Specialist Nich Kenny; USDA-ARS Engineer Paul Colaizzi; and other research and extension faculty from Kansas and Texas. <br /> <br /> Field Days were held at Colby, Kansas on August 4, 2009 and Halfway, Texas on August 25, 2009. Both events were well attended, and included field tours on research farms, as well as industry and educational exhibits. A proceedings packet containing research poster printouts and a CD with research reports, fact sheets and other information was developed and distributed to all participants in these events. Presentations included research-based recommendations for crop-specific SDI management; maintenance issues; advantages and disadvantages of SDI; system design, layout, uniformity and germination issues; and other topics. Audiences included agricultural producers, irrigation professionals, USDA-NRCS personnel, agricultural and engineering consultants, and others. <br /> <br /> The Halfway event had approximately 118 participants, and feedback was very positive. According to an evaluation survey, 63% of respondents indicated an increase in level of understanding of at least one topic; all other respondents indicated a high level of understanding both before and after the event. Forty percent of respondents indicated an increase in knowledge about SDI system components, layout and planning and SDI system maintenance and trouble-shooting; 46% indicated an increase in knowledge about irrigation best management practices to optimize benefits of the technology and improve water use efficiency; 49% indicated an increase in knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of SDI and of applicability of practices and/or technologies to their farm operations. Eighty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they received information that would be helpful in their irrigation decisions. Fifty percent indicated intentions to make changes in their irrigation practices as a result of information they received at the event. <br /> <br /> A professional development workshop on agricultural irrigation was conducted for Texas AgriLife Extension Agents (Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management) on August 13, 2009 in Lubbock, Texas. The irrigation training curriculum and reference notebook developed for the statewide workshop series was provided to the participating agents. Along with this "train the trainer" irrigation education package, evaluation instruments and additional subject matter resources were provided to support local irrigation and water conservation programming. <br /> <br /> Additional professional development opportunities and credit for county agents were provided for those participating and assisting with the statewide Irrigation Training Program series and the Subsurface Drip Irrigation Field Days in Kansas and Texas. <br /> <br /> In NM, research was done to estimate the depth of water and nitrate-N (NO3-N) fronts below the rooting zone, water and NO3-N balance and irrigation and plant uptake efficiencies for two onion fields under furrow and drip irrigation systems located in the Mesilla Valley of Southern New Mexico. Soil samples were collected during the last week of each month throughout the growing season from the fields at three locations and six depths and were analyzed for NO3-N and chloride concentration. The total amounts of N fertilizer applied to furrow and drip irrigated fields were 383 and 292 kg ha-1, and total water applied was 95 cm and 81 cm, respectively. The amount of NO3-N in the drainage water estimated by chloride tracer technique was 165.9 mg L-1 for furrow and 66.8 mg L-1 for drip irrigated fields for 60-200 cm depth. The NO3-N loadings below the rooting zone were 240 kg ha-1 for furrow and 79 kg ha-1 for drip irrigated fields. The ratio of NO3-N and Cl were similar for depths below the rooting zone of both the fields. The irrigation efficiencies for the furrow and drip irrigated fields were 81% and 83%, N use efficiencies were 23.4% and 31%, and water application efficiencies were 72% and 77%, respectively. Because of the water stress conditions in irrigation systems irrigation efficiencies were similar. However, shifting from furrow irrigation to drip irrigation can lower NO3-N leaching; improve N use efficiency with lower water inputs.<br /> <br /> In NM, phytoremediation work is being expanded at the former site of a petroleum refinery. This project is in the planning stages. This may provide a starting point for potential projects associated with the petroleum industry in this region.<br /> <br /> Studies have been conducted at Farmington, NM to evaluate the effects of different drip-irrigation volumes on the quality of landscape plants and on yields of chile peppers, sweet corn, and tomatoes when grown in small plots. The goal is to identify climate-based, canopy adjusted, irrigation factors (i.e. crop-coefficients) for scheduling irrigations on these plants when drip irrigated. Research to date has shown a great deal of variability in the recommended factors between different species of landscape plants and has formulated recommended irrigation factors of 0.80, 0.85, and 0.70 for chile peppers, sweet corn, and tomatoes, respectively when correlated with reference ET and measured canopy area. <br /> <br /> In NY, since the standard ETo x Kc from arid climates does not work for apple water use in NY conditions, our apple-specific Penman-Monteith equation is being incorporated into the Northeast Climate Center daily calculations of ET specific to crops and climate regions of NY, and made available to growers on the Northeast Weather Association grower web site. A grower training extension program is being developed in cooperation with regional extension specialists.<br /> <br /> In CA, grower meetings were held to inform growers about drought-year drip irrigation strategies (100 growers, Nickles annual field day, Arbuckle, CA), deficit irrigation strategies (300 growers, Kern Co. irrigation workshop, Bakersfield, CA), and to train growers in plant-based irrigation management (30 growers, Belridge, CA), as well as articles written for dissemination to growers through industry websites (http://www.almondboard.com/Growers/orchardmanagement/Pages/Drought.aspx).<br /> <br /> Gravity-fed drip irrigation has been installed and used for windbreak/conservation plantings on non-crop areas of the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Farmington. Also, NMSU Agricultural Science Center staff have advised and assisted with planning and installation of drip irrigation at the Bloomfield Senior Center Community Garden. The vegetable grown in the garden are used by the community, and the drip irrigation system is a visible demonstration of drip irrigation at a small scale for food production. NMSU Agricultural Science Center staff demonstrated low-tech gravity-fed drip irrigation during Earth Day activities at Aztec Ruins National Monument.<br />

Publications

AbdelGadir, A.H., M. Dougherty, J.P. Fulton, C. Burmester, C. Norris, L.M. Curtis, and D. Monks. 2009. Sub-surface drip irrigation-fertigation for site-specific, precision management of cotton. Paper No. 2176. Innovations in Irrigation Conference. December 2-4, 2009, San Antonio, TX.<br /> <br /> Arbat, G., F. R. Lamm and A. A. Abou Kheira. 2009. Effect of emitter spacing on soil water redistribution, corn yield and water productivity under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). ASABE paper no. 096578. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 17 pp.<br /> <br /> Bohl, W., T. Salaiz, H. Neibling and T McCammon. 2009. Watering Home Lawns: How Much and How Often. University of Idaho Extension CIS 1157, 7pp.<br /> <br /> Boman, R., D. Porter, and J. Bordovsky. 2008. Irrigation Management Strategies for High Plains Cotton. Texas AgriLife Extension and Research Center, Lubbock. Texas. <br /> <br /> Bordovsky, J.P. and D.O. Porter. 2008. Effect of Subsurface Drip Irrigation System Uniformity on Cotton Production in the Texas High Plains. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers,24(4): 465-472.<br /> <br /> Chighladze, G., A.L. Kaleita, and S. Birrell. 2009. Response of capacitance probes to soil solution nitrate concentration. ASABE Paper No. 097211. ASABE Annual International Conference, Reno, NV, June 21  June 24.<br /> <br /> Dougherty, M., A.H. AbdelGadir, J.P. Fulton, E. van Santen, L.M. Curtis, C.H. Burmester, C.H., H.D. Harkins, and B.E. Norris. 2009. Subsurface Drip Irrigation and Fertigation for North Alabama Cotton Production. Journal of Cotton Science. 13(2009):227-237.<br /> <br /> Enciso-Medina, J., W. L. Multer, and F. R. Lamm. 2009. Impact of Management on the Life Expectancy of Drip Systems. In: Proc. 2009 Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA. 11 pp.<br /> <br /> Enciso-Medina, J., W. Multer and F. R. Lamm. 2009. Evaluation of old subsurface drip irrigation systems in Texas. ASABE paper no. 095725. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 8 pp. <br /> <br /> Harbuck, T.L. J.P. Fulton, M. Dougherty, D. Eakes, S. Taylor, J. Sibley, and L. Curtis. 2009. In-field evaluation of pressure-compensated subsurface drip irrigation. ASABE Paper No. 097144. ASABE Annual International Conference, Reno, NV, June 21  June 24.<br /> <br /> Intrigliolo, D.S., A.N. Lakso and R.M. Piccioni. 2008. Grapevine cv.`Riesling´ water use in the northeastern United States. Irrig. Science 27:253-262. (online DOI 10.1007/s00271-008-0140-1).<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R. 2009. Managing the challenges of subsurface drip irrigation. In: Proc. 2009 Irrigation Association Tech. Conf., San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA. 23 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., D. H. Rogers, M. Alam, D. M. OBrien, and T. P. Trooien. 2009. Summary of Twenty years of Kansas SDI Research. In: Proc. 2009 Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA. 24 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R. 2009. Unique challenges with subsurface drip irrigation. ASABE paper no. 095927. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 25 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., D. H. Rogers, M. Alam, D. M. OBrien, and T. P. Trooien. 2009. Twenty years of progress with SDI in Kansas. ASABE paper no. 095923. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 23 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R. 2009. A look at twenty years of SDI research in Kansas. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conf., Colby, KS., Feb. 24-25, 2009. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 152-176.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R. and A. A. Abou Kheira. 2009. Corn irrigation macromanagement at the seasonal boundaries  Initiating and terminating the irrigation season. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conf., Colby, KS., Feb. 24-25, 2009. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 40-60.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., D. M. OBrien, D. H. Rogers, and T. J. Dumler. 2009. Using the K-State center pivot sprinkler and SDI economic comparison spreadsheet  2009. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conf., Colby, KS., Feb. 24-25, 2009. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 177-187.<br /> <br /> Lakso, A.N. R.M. Pool and R.M. Dunst, 2008. Effects of Vineyard Floor Management on Soil Moisture and Vine Water Status. Proc. Finger Lakes Grape Conf. pp 40-42.<br /> <br /> Lesikar, Bruce. 2009. LPD Design. 7th Annual Texas On-site Wastewater Treatment Research Council Conference, Waco, Texas, 03/03/09-03/04/09. <br /> <br /> Lesikar, Bruce, Rebecca Melton, Nancy Deal, George Loomis, David Kalen, Sara Christopherson, David Lindbo. 2009. Installation Curriculum for Small Scale Wastewater Treatment Systems. 2009 CSREES National Water Conference, St. Louis, MO, 02/08/09-02/12/09. <br /> <br /> Lombard, K.A., M.K. ONeill, R. Heyduck, B. Onken, A. Ulery, and J. Mexal. 2009. Composted biosolids as a source of iron for hybrid poplars (Populus sp) grown in Northwest New Mexico. Poster presentation. 2nd World Congress on Agroforestry. August 23-28, 2009. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Nairobi, Kenya.<br /> <br /> Miyamoto, Seiichi, Genhua Niu, Girisha Ganjegunte, Bruce Lesikar. 2009. Saline and Wastewater Management and Water Reuse: Texas Summary. Rio Grande Initiative Conference, McAllen, Texas, 08/10/09  08/13/09. <br /> <br /> Mullenix, D.K., J.P. Fulton, M. Dougherty, E. Cebert, O.O. Fasina, S. Adhikari, and W.C. Zech. 2009. Optimizing irrigation rates for an experimental energy rotation. ASABE Paper No. 091745. ASABE Annual International Conference, Reno, NV, June 21  June 24.<br /> <br /> OBrien, D. M., F.R. Lamm, D. H. Rogers, T. J. Dumler. 2009. Effect of the changing U.S.economy on the relative profitability of center pivot sprinklers and SDI systems. In: Proc. 2009 Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA.. 13 pp.<br /> <br /> ONeill, M.K., C. Shock, K.A. Lombard, R. Heyduck, E. Feibert, D. Smeal, R.N. Arnold. 2009. Hybrid poplar production in the semi-arid Intermountain Western United States. Poster presentation. 2nd World Congress on Agroforestry. August 23-28, 2009. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Nairobi, Kenya.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Late season irrigation management for cotton. Southwest Farm Press. August 10, 2009. Accessed Monday, 08/10/09 at: http://southwestfarmpress.com/cotton/water-management-0810/index.html<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. SDI field day slated Aug. 25. Southwest Farm Press. August 18, 2009. Accessed Monday, 08/18/09 at: http://southwestfarmpress.com/irrigation/subsurface-drip-irrigation-0818/.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Evolving irrigation management for 2009. 2009 Annual Meeting of the High Plains Association of Crop Consultants. Lubbock, TX. 03/03/09.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Technology Transfer and the Ogallala Aquifer Program. 2009 Annual Meeting of the USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Initiative research group, Garden City, Kansas. 03/10/09 - 03/12/09.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Irrigation Practices, Research Programs and Extension/Outreach in the Texas High Plains. Consortium for Irrigation Research and Education (CIRE) annual meeting, Amarillo and Bushland, Texas, 05/27/09  05/29/09. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Making the most of irrigation technology: refining irrigation management. West Texas Agricultural Chemicals Institute Annual Conference, Lubbock, TX. 09/10/08<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Irrigation management using soil moisture and ET information. Lower Rio Grande Valley Irrigation Conference. Mercedes, TX. 10/29/08.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Water Issues in Agriculture. Invited guest lecture, WMHS 602: Contemporary Issues in Water Resources course, Ron Kaiser, instructor. 11/11/08. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Irrigation Training Program curriculum, manual and irrigation workshop series. Reference notebooks were developed for a statewide irrigation education program targeting progressive agricultural producers, county educators, crop consultants, irrigation professionals, technical support providers, water resources planners and similarly interested audiences. <br /> <br /> Porter, D., Editor. 2008. Irrigation Training Program Curriculum and Reference Manual. Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas AgriLife Research, Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Soil and Water Conservation Board, and USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Initiative. <br /> <br /> Porter, D. 2008. End of Season Irrigation Management for Cotton. In: FOCUS on South Plains Agriculture. Vol. 47. No. 15. August 29, 2008. Texas AgriLife Extension and Research Center, Lubbock. Texas. Available at: http://lubbock.tamu.edu/focus/Focus2008/August_29/2008_Late_Season_Irrigation.pdf<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Irrigation Technologies and Best Management Practices. West Plains Ag Conference, Levelland, TX. 01/19/09. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Irrigation Technologies and Best Management Practices. Llano Estacado Cotton Conference, Muleshoe, TX. 01/21/09. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Soil Moisture and Efficient Irrigation Management. Hale and Swisher Counties Crop Conference, Plainview, TX.02/10/09<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2009. Efficient Irrigation for Turf and Landscape and Introduction to Rainwater Harvesting. South Plains Master Gardeners class. 02/10/09.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Irrigation Scheduling. Presented at: Irrigation Training Program. Chillicothe, TX. 08/20/08.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Subsurface Drip Irrigation Research at AgCARES. 2008. AgCARES and Dawson County Agriculture Tour, Lamesa, TX. 08/20/08.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Late Season Irrigation Management for Cotton. Lubbock County Late Season Management Meeting and Field Tour, Lubbock, TX. 08/27/08.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2008. Irrigation Best Management Practices: Managing Soil Moisture. Swisher County Ag Day. Tulia, TX. 12/09/08.<br /> <br /> Puig-Bargués, J., F. R. Lamm, T. P. Trooien and G. A. Clark. 2009. Dripline flushing velocities for SDI. ASABE paper no. 096457. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 17 pp.<br /> <br /> Rogers, D. H. and F. R. Lamm. 2009. Keys to successful adoption of SDI: Minimizing problems and ensuring longevity. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conf., Colby, KS., Feb. 24-25, 2009. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 140-151.<br /> <br /> Sharma P. and M.K. Shukla and T. Sammis. 2009. Nitrate-nitrogen leaching and irrigation efficiencies in Onion fields under Furrow and Drip irrigation system. WRRI Conference, Socorro, August. 11.<br /> <br /> Sharma P. and M.K. Shukla and T. Sammis. 2009. Nitrate-nitrogen and chloride leaching in Onion fields under Furrow and Drip irrigation system. ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Joint Annual Meeting, November 1-5, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA.<br /> <br /> Smeal, D., M.K. ONeill, K.A. Lombard, and R.N, Arnold. 2009. Crop coefficients for drip-irrigated xeriscapes and urban vegetable gardens. Abstract and Oral Presentation. Paper No. 2840. Innovations in Irrigation, Irrigation Association Conference. December 2-4, 2009. San Antonio, Texas.<br /> <br /> St. Hilaire, Rolston, Michael A. Arnold, Don C. Wilkerson, Dale A. Devitt, Brian H. Hurd, Bruce J. Lesikar, Virginia I. Lohr, Chris A. Martin, Garry V. McDonald, Robert L. Morris, Dennis R. Pittenger, David A. Shaw, David F. Zoldoske. 2008. Efficient Water Use in Residential Urban Landscapes. HortScience 43: 2081-2092 Dec. 2008. Accessed 11/10/09 at: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/7/2081<br /> <br /> Trooien, T. P., D. J. Hills, and F. R. Lamm. 2009. Using SDI to effectively irrigate with biological effluent. In: Proc. 2009 Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA. 7 pp.<br /> <br /> Wheeler, T.A., D. Porter, D. Archer, and B. Mullinix. 2008. Effect of Fumigation on Rotylenchulus reniformis Population Density through Subsurface Drip Irrigation Located Every Other Furrow. The Journal of Nematology. Sept. 2008. 40(3):210-6.<br /> <br /> Software to compare the economics of conversion to center pivot sprinkler irriagtion or subsurface drip irrigation from furrow irrigation for corn production was updated and released to the public, January, 2009 http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Software/CP_SDI09.xls<br /> <br /> Software to determine optimum planned corn area and plant population for SDI was updated and released to the public, January, 2009 http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Software/COpt_SDI09.xls<br /> <br /> Training video on the web describing the operation of the pressure chamber, which is used for plant-based RDI management. Released to the public, April 2009 http://www.chlorofilms.org/index.php/crpVideo/display/videoid/27<br /> <br /> Making the Most of Irrigation. Irrigation Training Program workshop held in conjunction with the Southwest Farm and Ranch Classic Farm Show, February 1, 2008, Lubbock, Texas. <br /> <br /> Irrigation Training Program. Irrigation Training Program workshop held August 19, 2008 at Chillicothe, Texas. <br /> <br /> Irrigation Update for the Texas Southern High Plains. Ag Talk on FOX Talk AM 950. Live interview and call-in show with host, Eddie Griffis. November 24, 2008.<br />

Impact Statements

1. Research from Idaho shows that use of daily soil water information at multiple depths can aid in better water utilization of limited water among farm crops and can save 10% or more on pumping and labor costs due to better irrigation scheduling. It also allows early detection for quick correction of over- or under- irrigation problems. This can maintain crop yield and quality at optimum levels with less water usage and can minimize water-related disease problems.
2. Early-season soil water data collection allowed a water-short irrigation district to use actual soil water data to forecast the date for starting water delivery. This delayed system turn-on by about 10 days as compared to traditional district operations and allowed the additional stored water to be used for more benefit later in the season.
3. Idahos on-line irrigation scheduling technology and solutions allows forecasting of crop water use from any point in the growing season based on average conditions, provides estimated soil water content with depth and time for a wide variety of soil and crop conditions, and generates a report which will satisfy USDA-NRCS IWM (irrigation water management) reporting requirements.
4. Technology transfer can remove knowledge gaps and provide improved networking of not only scientists but also producers and industry representatives. Producers made statements that they were highly pleased with the information being provided at the Kansas and Texas field days and were surprised but pleased that extensive and ongoing cooperation existed between Kansas and Texas scientists.
5. Increasing emitter spacing without decreasing crop yield allows for dripline manufacturing and design flexibilities such as emitters with more precise discharge rates that cost more to manufacture. The results also indicate that some emitter clogging would be possible without affecting yields.
6. Producers can consider SDI as a cost-competitive alternative to center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems even for lower-valued commodity crops. Cost of microirrigation systems has been a traditional barrier.
7. Early season water stress on corn can often be mitigated by relieving the stress near anthesis.
8. According to an evaluation survey of attendees at the SDI Field Day at Halfway, Texas, Eighty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they received information that would be helpful in their irrigation decisions. Fifty percent indicated intentions to make changes in their irrigation practices as a result of information they received at the event.
9. According to participant surveys from a statewide irrigation training program in Texas, fifty-seven percent indicated intention to adopt best management practices, and seventy-five percent expected to derive economic benefit from applying the knowledge and/or adopting identified practices.
10. The NM study on chloride and nitrogen transport and irrigation efficiencies showed that although due to the water stress conditions in irrigation systems irrigation efficiencies were similar for furrow and drip irrigation systems. However, shifting from furrow irrigation to drip irrigation can lower NO3-N leaching, and improve N use efficiency with lower water inputs.
11. Drip irrigation has been applied to maintain phytoremediation plantings at the sites of several former uranium mills on the Navajo Nation. This has shown that gravity-fed drip irrigation can be a viable strategy for establishment and maintenance of plantings in remote areas.
12. In Alabama, SDI adoption for crop production increased by apprximately 20% (area basis) in 2009 providing a means to irrigate land not suitable for other irrigation technology.

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Report Information

Participants

Loring, Steve (Administrative Advisor) (sloring@nmsu.edu)  New Mexico State University
Román-Paoli, Elvin (Chairman) (eroman@u)prm.edu)  University of Puerto Rico
Kaleita, Amy (Vice Chairman) (kaleita@iastate.edu)  Iowa State University
Shukla, Manoj K (Secretary) (shuklamk@nmsu.edu)  New Mexico State University
Fares, Ali (afares@hawaii.edu)  University of Hawaii
Lamm, Freddie (flamm@ksu.edu)  Kansas State University
Porter, Dana (dporter@tamu.edu)  Texas AgriLife Research
Shackel, Kenneth (kashackel@ucdavis.edu)  University of California, Davis
Shock, Clinton (Clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu)  Oregon State University
Stanley, Craig (cdstan@ufl.edu)  University of Florida
Neibling, Howard (hneiblin@uidaho.edu)- University of Idaho
Garcia, Axel (axel.garcia@uwyo.edu)- University of Wyoming

Brief Summary of Minutes

Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The 2009 meeting was organized I Ames, Iowa. Román-Paoli, Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:05 am with a welcome and introduced the new administrative officer Dr. Steve Loring. Steve Loring introduced himself as the new adviser for the group and conveyed greetings from LeRoy Daugherty, the former advisor. He also shared his thoughts about the future funding situations that may come up and talked about the new AFRI grants.
Ken Shackel, CA, asked to talk about the objectives of the project and Clint read them out for the group. The group was informed that a field trip was organized to a water treatment facility and a wild life refuse land conversion project.

Dana Porter, TX, shared the report from Texas on behalf of all researchers on low pressure microirrigation system and talked about the distribution uniformity for different types of drip lines under different pressures. She also talked about evaluation of soil water sensor for irrigation measurement, cotton response to subsurface drip irrigation interval and field topography and farm scale comparison of drip to center pivot center. Most of the information is also available on the Lubbock.tamu.edu web-site. She also talked about the Technology Transfer efforts in Texas. She also showed web-based tools for ET estimation, irrigation training programs and trainings for technical service providers, youth, and landowner guide, reference manuals and workshop series on several important topics related to irrigation management.

Craig Stanley from Florida suggested looking at the milestones of the group sometime during the meeting. He then talked about his research on water use for strawberry. Last year there were 11 straight days with temperature below 310F and resulted in widespread sinkhole development. He talked about the strategies (intermittent irrigation, reduced irrigation, alter transplant type) to reducing water use during transplant establishment. He reported method where irrigation was run as 10on/10off produced best results with respect to physiological parameters. He also presented information on Florida onsite sewage nitrogen reduction systems and various studies currently underway. Several different filters and engineered media were tried for nitrogen removal by initial nitrification and subsequent denitrification. He also presented the results from Santos Bielinski on potential of high tunnels on strawberry growth, yield and quality under different irrigation systems. In general harvest was earlier and total production higher under tunnel.

Freddie Lamm, KSU presented information from paper to be presented at Irrigation conference in Arizona. He talked about the growth of SDI in the US that is about 59%, design and installation challenges, spacing of driplines, operational and maintenance challenges. A question was raised about the trust level of growers on using SDI, how to monitor, check the system and need for developing some indicators. Possibility of using salinity sensors to monitor soil water distribution was also discussed. He also informed the group that a paper on the status of subsurface drip irrigation will be presented shortly during irrigation conference.

Ali Fares, Hawaii, talked about nitrogen and water best management practices for sweet corn under conventional and conservation tillage system for Tropical Hawaii by doing a nitrogen budget and water budget. Soil moisture sensors, suction cups, tensiometers, and CO2 emissions were recorded from each plot arranged in a RBD. He informed the group that the soil classification is similar to the standard USDA classification however characteristics are fairly different. This is an on-going study and soils behave just like sand and drains quickly. The experiment involves use of several different devices that can record continuous or periodic soil water content and soil water potential across experimental plots.

Amy from ISU talked about the sensitivity of soil moisture capacitance sensors in the laboratory for nitrate ion. Results showed that sensors were more sensitive to the nitrate ion than chloride. Iowa is also trying to design a wireless sensor for soil moisture content measurement. At present there is a wireless sensor commercially available and known as TURFGUARD and this sensor is being used by NMSU researchers.

After lunch, format of the report was discussed with the group. In addition, minutes, short term outcomes (quantitative measurable), output (tangible, intangible: presentations and publications), activities (field work also), milestones, impacts (actual or potential) were also briefly discussed.
A new member, Axel Garcia from University of Wyoming, introduced himself. He talked about some of the research facilities including irrigation systems in his Institution. His research focus is irrigation scheduling methods.
Ken Sheckel spoke about various remote sensing techniques (RSET and SEBEL) for monitoring ET and biomass. SWP related very well to VPD. RSET model provides a good relationship between different ETs. RSET Kc and eddy covariance Kc were poorly correlated. Good correlation between remote ET and measured ET, poor correlation between measured and remote sensed Kc. Neither Kc showed a clear response to mild stress. He further reported some of the warping issues related with the satellite images. Discussion was mostly centered around the problems and advantages associated with the remote sensing methods.

The milestones for 2010 and 2011 were discussed and participants under various milestones were identified. The next year meeting location was also discussed and some possible locations suggested include Las Cruces, NM; El Paso, TX, Albuquerque, NM; San Diego, CA, and Phoenix, AZ.

Thursday, November 18, 2010
Elvin Román-Paoli called the meeting to order at 8:25 am. Manoj Shukla from New Mexico presented report on nitrate and chloride loadings to the groundwater, irrigation efficiency, leaching fraction and effect of salinity on Pecan bud break. He also presented the work of Dan Smeal and Mike ONeal on gravity irrigation system and Poplar production in Farmington. Deficit irrigation was discussed and group was told that the actual amount of water applied is smaller than the total water applied to maintain nonstress conditions.

Howard Neibling from Idaho presented his work on the effect of distance from point source on yield of crops. Effect of tillage and irrigation on different crop parameters were assessed for different varieties of corn and water treatments both amounts (ET) and at v6 stage of corn growth. Soils were highly variable and soil water content followed similar trend. Discussion was mostly centered on the soil variability and irrigation using sensor reading.

Elvin Román-Paoli from Puerto Rico talked about the microirrigation, fertigation and management trials for different fruit orchards grown on different types of soils. Different irrigation and fertilizer types and levels were assessed with respect to yield. Preliminary results did not show significant differences between Brix content or yields with different fertilizer systems. Another project soon to start will study the effect of Citrus root stocks and microirrigation levels on Citrus.

Clint Shock from Oregon talked about SDI field trials, sensor calibration field trials, and technology transfer. SDI trails were on Corn lily. Another study was on trips suppression due to water amounts. Yield was significantly related to soil water potential, symptoms and viruses were not related to SWP. Calibration of GMS and other sensors had problems with both clay and sand. The technology transfer included watershed education, organization of workshops and field days and publication of brochures on irrigation scheduling.

In the afternoon a field trip was organized to a wastewater treatment facility in Des Moines. The wastewater facility essentially removes nitrate from the surface water. The facility also records a number of other water quality parameters. The second trip was to a Prairie Education Center and wildlife refuse center located just outside of the city. The facility displayed how much soil erosion has taken place since the settlers moved in the area. The area is restored as close to its original topography and land use as possible and at present there are a number of wild animals living in the Prairie under natural conditions.

Friday, November 19, 2010
The minutes of the 2009 meeting were discussed and approved unanimously. The deadline for submitting individual state reports is set as December 20th. Manoj Shukla, Secretary, was asked to send a reminder to the group around December 10th, 2010. Axel Garcia from University of Wyoming was unanimously elected the Secretary of W2128 for year 2011. The tentative date for the next meeting was proposed as November 16-18, 2011. It was decided to setup a Doodle so that W2128 participants can vote on the 2011 meeting location. A suggestion was made to include different cities to provide voters with some options and a space can be provided for placing the comments with regard to attendance confirmation, etc.

A discussion on putting state reports/presentations on W2128 web-page took place and the members decided unanimously that a pdf of individual presentations can be uploaded on the website. The members decided that everyone will send his/her pdf of the presentation to Clint by December 15th. It was also decided that the executive committee will make a final decision on the location of the next meeting. A vote of thanks was unanimously passed for the Vice Chair for all the legwork leading to the organization of this meeting.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Compare irrigation scheduling technologies and develop grower-appropriate scheduling products.<br /> <br /> In Iowa, laboratory tests of the performance capacitance-type soil sensors (EC-5 and EC-10, Decagon Devices) were completed. The experiments tested use of the sensors in tracking both soil water content and pore water nitrate concentration. Experiments to determine the conductance of aqueous solutions with various nitrate concentrations at a larger range of frequencies (0.01 to 10000 KHz) were also completed. Also in Iowa, an experiment documenting the extent to which the presence of dew on a plant canopy interferes with remotely sensed estimates of soil moisture in the L-band microwave region was completed. <br /> <br /> In Texas, workshop series presenting results and recommendations of statewide assessment of ET Networks for regulatory and research audiences were held on July 21, 2010 (Austin, TX); August 26, 2010 (Bushland, TX); and September 13, 2010 (College Station, TX). Recommendations have been submitted to the Texas Water Development Board.<br /> <br /> In New Mexico, field calibration of TDR sensors was carried out at three locations under sandy loam and silt loam soil. Soil samples were taken at depths of 20, 40, 60 and 80 cm from soil profiles near the CS616 TDR sensors and bulk density and gravimetric water contents were determined. At each site, new coefficients C0, C1 and C2 for Topps equation were derived separately by tree and depths using a leastsquares optimization approach. The coefficient of determination (R2) was always > 0.85 between the gravimetrically and TDR measured volumetric water contents. These results were presented during annual national and international meetings.<br /> <br /> In New Mexico, a 2 dimensional (2 D) volume balance ellipsoid irrigation model was developed for scheduling irrigation for a trickle line source irrigation system and results were compared to field experiments on onions and chile. The results of the 2 D model were also compared to a one dimensional (1 D) volume balance irrigation scheduling model. <br /> <br /> In Oregon, irrigation scheduling instruments that measure soil water tension (SWT) are being calibrated in a hanging, weighing lysimeter in a controlled temperature growth chamber through wetting and drying cycles at different temperatures. Tensiometers, granular matrix sensors (GMS), hybrid sensors, thermocouple psychrometer readings, and capacitance probes are being compared and calibrated. Irrigation scheduling instruments that measure SWT are being calibrated in coarse sand in a crop production field with variable temperature through wetting and drying cycles created by irrigation events. Tensiometers, GMS, and capacitance probes are being compared and calibrated. Various GMS installation methods potentially appropriate for sand and clay are being tested. Irrigation scheduling instruments that measure SWT are being calibrated in heavy clay in a crop production field with variable temperature through wetting and drying cycles created by irrigation events. Tensiometers, GMS, and capacitance probes are being compared and calibrated. <br /> <br /> In Kansas, research continued on evaluating the effect of early season water stresses on corn production. Results thus far are indicating that early season water stresses can be tolerated without yield detriment provided that the yield component of kernels/ear is not reduced and that post-anthesis water management is not deficit.<br /> <br /> In Oregon work continued on developing grower-appropriate scheduling products. The response of corn lily (Veratrum californicum) to SWT based irrigation criteria is being studied. Corn lily is being grown with automated drip irrigation at SWT criteria of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 kPa (4 replicates each) at both 2,150 and 4,900 feet elevation in Oregon and Idaho, respectively. Irrigation criteria is being examined for seed production of 20 native perennial plant species that the US Forest Service and BLM have determined would be highly desirable for rangeland restoration. Each species is being grown under SDI in replicated plots with three irrigation treatments (0, 100, and 200 mm/yr total irrigation) repeated over years. These results from Oregon are being communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written and on line reports, and published and on line extension brochures. <br /> <br /> In Puerto Rico, work continued on the beneficial effect of satisfying pineapple water needs by using drip irrigation and fertigation and a poster was presented at the Caribbean Food Crop Society Annual meeting at Boca Chica Dominican Republic. Collaborative work with the University of Alabama continued with the objective of creating a remote sensing product for estimating radiation for Puerto Rico. The 1-km resolution product is valuable for estimating evapotranspiration. The remote sensing research related to evapotranspiration has a great potential to benefit irrigators in Puerto Rico. The remote sensing product provides a resolution which is orders of magnitude greater than what we have had available in the past. Future work will expand the product from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Haiti, and will incorporate a soil water budget calculation. In Puerto Rico, collaborative work is also underway on the preparation of irrigation manual including overhead irrigation, microirrigation, animal waste management and design adaptable to the Puertoricans conditions. <br /> <br /> In New York, Geneva, previous research has shown that crop coefficients based on grass reference from arid zones are not valid for apples in humid zones. Therefore, an apple-specific Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation was developed. To provide locally-validated estimates of water use for irrigation scheduling, the apple P-M equation has been programmed into the daily calculations of the Northeast Climate Center at Cornell University to provide daily crop basal ET based on weather inputs from stations in apple-growing regions of NY. Research irrigation trials in commercial orchards are being established to validate this method. Development of a microfludics-based microsensor for continuous monitoring of plant stem potential  Perennial fruit crops have extensive and deep, but erratic root systems so soil moisture measures are problematic. Additionally, to improve fruit quality growers may use deficit irrigation to impose a controlled water stress. To allow continuous monitoring of plant water stress, we have developed a microtensiometer (size about 1x3 mm) designed to embed in the trunk of perennial plants and directly measure stem water potential. Using nanofabrication prototypes are being assembled for controlled testing and initial plant embedding. <br /> <br /> In Florida, microirrigated strawberry production uses overhead irrigation for transplant establishment. This practice typically uses very large quantities of water. A study was conducted to utilize cycling of applications to reduce amounts utilized. Equipment to control overhead sprinkler irrigation cycles were installed in a commercially cropped area. Control of the desired cycles was achieved by delineating plot areas bordered and irrigated by 4 sprinklers (48 ft x 48 ft) and installing solenoid valves below the sprinkler heads. These solenoid valves in each treatment area were controlled by a continuously cycled 1-hour time which had the ability to turn water on or off at 1.25 minute intervals. The proposed cycle times included in the original proposal were modified because of grower concerns that some off times were too long. Actual application on/off cycle treatments used were: 1) 10 minutes on/10 minutes off (50% reduction) ; 2) 5 minutes on/ 5 minutes off (50% reduction); 3) 5 minutes on/10 minutes off (67% reduction); and 4) continuously on. Establishment treatments were initiated on October 3 and terminated on October 17, 2010. Each day the water was applied during a 10 hour/day period. Applied amounts for each treatment 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 10.92, 10.92, 7.14, and 21.84, respectively. In addition to determine the effect on transplant growth among treatments, foliage harvests were made on 16 plants per treatment on October 29, 2010. Significant differences were detected between Treatment 1 and all other treatments for leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, leaf area and number of tri-foliates. No differences were detected among treatments 2, 3, and 4. <br /> <br /> In California, ET measured by eddy covariance over two almond orchards in 2009 was compared to ET measured by SEBAL (satellite) to determine whether either could be used as a measure of plant water stress (or stem water potential), as measured by the pressure chamber. Meetings to discuss these results with cooperators in California and Minnesota are scheduled for 12/22/10 and 1/20/10. Preliminary results were presented at the almond industry meetings on 12/9/10 and will be presented at a CE irrigation short course on 12/17/10.<br /> <br /> Objective 2: Develop design, management and maintenance recommendations<br /> <br /> From Kansas, a paper was presented at the ASABE/IA Fifth Decennial National Irrigation Conference concerning the status of subsurface drip irrigation in 2010 from a national perspective. In this paper, the multiple authors from across the US described design, management and maintenance issues in their region with the goal of identifying commonalities and specific research needs. Key issues were rodent damage and uncertainties of performance as perceived by producers.<br /> <br /> In Idaho, data collection continued this year using Decagon ECH2O data loggers with soil water sensors at depths of 15, 30, 45, and 60-cm on a number of alfalfa fields in sandy and silt loam soils. Work is on-going on water use based on actual irrigation timing and amount, and the resulting soil water content will be compared to estimated water use based on initial and final soil water content and AgriMet estimated daily ET. <br /> <br /> In Oregon, Drip, sprinkler, and furrow irrigation systems are being compared and various irrigation criteria are being tested for their effects on onion yield and grade. Results are being communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written and on line reports, and published and on line extension brochures. <br /> <br /> At Farmington, NM, several emitter outputs of a rigid PE dripline and a drip tape at different pressures (10 psi and gravity-fed 2.5 psi) were compared. Mean emitter outputs of these products were at 0.36 gph for the drip tape and 0.50 gph for the rigid PE, respectively at 10 psi but decreased by more than 80% (to 0.05 and 0.09 gph, respectively) at 2.5 psi. Output uniformity decreased with lower pressure in the drip tape but was unaffected by pressure in the rigid PE. Research is currently on-going to evaluate the emitter-output vs. pressure variability of several point- source emitters.<br /> <br /> Objective 3: To reduce existing water and nutrient management barriers associated with microirrigation.<br /> <br /> In TX, research-based recommendations have been developed for fertility management of subsurface drip irrigated cotton in the Texas Southern High Plains. Additional information will be assembled to develop and expand recommendations for additional crops and conditions. <br /> <br /> In Colorado, research was carried out to determine the effects of using high salinity ground water on muskmelon yield and quality. In a two year study, muskmelons drip-irrigated with irrigation water with an Ecw of 2.8 dS m-1 had equivalent yields as those irrigated with 1.0 dS m-1 water. Fruit quality as measured by percent brix was not significantly different between treatments. Salt distribution patterns in the soil profile were also determined.<br /> <br /> In Kansas, research began on evaluating the effect of nitrogen fertigation through subsurface drip irrigation on corn with three timings of N application and two irrigation levels. The goal of this research is to evaluate if carefully timed nitrogen application will maximize the yield component of kernels/ear.<br /> <br /> In New Mexico, soil samples were collected from two onion fields under drip and furrow irrigation systems and were analyzed for NO3-N and chloride concentration for two consecutive onion growing seasons. The total amounts of N fertilizer applied to furrow and drip irrigated fields were 383 and 292 kg ha-1, and total water applied was 95 cm and 81 cm, respectively. Nitrogen application and use efficiencies were low during both seasons because of high levels of available N in the root zone due to the application of excess N fertilizer as compared with the total amount of N taken up by the onion plants. Similar leaching fraction of 0.17 was obtained during both the growing seasons using chloride tracer technique, therefore, irrigation efficiencies (1-LF) under both seasons were also the same (83%). Nitrogen application and use efficiencies were low during both seasons because of high levels of available N in the root zone due to the application of excess N fertilizer as compared with the total amount of N taken up by the onion plants. Water application efficiency increased from 77% during 2006-07 to 84% during 2008 as comparatively less amount of water was applied during 2008. In an another on-going study in New Mexico, Pecan roots were planted in pots and were drip irrigated with solutions of EC ranging from 1.5 to 8 dS/m. The project aims to evaluate the effects of different salinity levels on physiological properties of Pecan roots including bud break. Initial results show early leaf scorching in plants irrigated with saline solution having higher EC. No budbreak and subsequently leaves were observed in the second year plants irrigated with >5 dS m-1.<br /> <br /> Objective 4 No activity is reported for this period

Publications

Arbat, G., F. R. Lamm, and A. A. Abou Kheira. 2010. Subsurface drip irrigation emitter spacing effects on soil water redistribution, corn yield and water productivity. Applied Engr. in Agric. 26(3):391-399.<br /> <br /> Bartolo, M.E. 2009. Onion response to different water qualities. In Arkansas Valley Research Center 2007 Reports, CSU Ag. Expt. Station Technical Report 09-12. p.38-41.<br /> <br /> Bordovsky, James P. and Joseph T. Mustian. 2010. Cotton Production Response to Crop Row Offset and Orientation to SDI Laterals in the Texas High Plains. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> Chighladze, G., A. Kaleita, and S. Birrell. 2010. Sensitivity of capacitance soil moisture sensors to nitrate ions in soil solution. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 74: 1987-1995.<br /> <br /> Chighladze, G., A. Kaleita, and S. Birrell. 2010. Temperature-dependent dielectric response of aqueous solutions to presence of nitrate ions. Presented at the 2010 Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2010, Long Beach, CA.<br /> <br /> Dragoni, D. and A. N. Lakso, 2010. An apple-specific ET model. Acta Hort. (in press).<br /> <br /> Emerson, P., G. Beauchamp, R. Heyduck, J. Kallestad, M.K. ONeill, R. Shuren, B. Stanton, and M.E. Swanson. 2010. Hybrid poplar suitability for regional deployment as a bio-fuel feedstock. Poster presentation at the International Poplar Symposium, Orvieto, Italy, September 20  25, 2010. http://ocs.entecra.it/index.php/IPS/5/paper/view/263.<br /> <br /> Gonzalez A. and M. K. Shukla. 2010. Coupled Transport of Nitrate and Chloride in Unsaturated porous Media. 2010 International annual meetings, ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Oct. 31Nov. 4, 2010, Long Beach, CA.<br /> <br /> Gonzalez A. and M. K. Shukla. 2010. Transport of Nitrate and Chloride in Saturated Soil Columns. The 2010 New Mexico Water Research Symposium: Resource Interdependence, August 03, 2010, Macey Center, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico.<br /> <br /> Harmsen, E. W., J. Mecikalski, M. J. Cardona-Soto, A. Rojas Gonzalez and R. Vasquez, 2009. Estimating daily evapotranspiration in Puerto Rico using satellite remote sensing. WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development, Vol. 6(5):456-465.<br /> <br /> Harmsen, E. W., J. Mecikalski, M. J. Cardona-Soto, A. Rojas Gonzalez and R. Vasquez, 2009. Satellite Solar Insolation-Based Daily Evapotranspiration Estimation in Puerto Rico. Proceeding of the 8th WSEAS Int. Conf. on INSTRUMENTATION, MEASUREMENT, CIRCUITS and SYSTEMS (IMCAS'09), China Jiliang University & Zhejiang University of Technology, in Hangzhou, China, May 20-22.<br /> <br /> Harmsen, E. W., N. L. Miller, N. J. Schlegel and J. E. Gonzalez, 2009. Seasonal Climate Change Impacts on Evapotranspiration, Precipitation Deficit and Crop Yield in Puerto Rico, J. Agricultural Water Management 96(7):10851095.<br /> <br /> Harmsen, E. W., V. H. Ramirez Builes, M. D. Dukes, X. Jia, J. E. Gonzalez And L. R. Pérez Alegía, 2009. A Ground-Based Method for Calibrating Remotely Sensed Surface Temperature for use in Estimating Evapotranspiration. WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT. Issue 1, Volume 5, January. pp 13-23.<br /> <br /> Hornbuckle, B., T. Rowlandson, A. Kruger, S. Yueh, E. Russell, A. Kaleita, S. Logsdon, and R. De Roo. 2010. How does dew affect L-band backscatter? Analysis of PALS data at the Iowa Validation Site and implications for SMAP. International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Sympoisum 2010, Honolulu HI.<br /> <br /> Intrigliolo, D. S., Lakso, A. N., Piccioni, R. M. 2009. Using the heat pulse "Tmax" procedure to estimate grapevine water use in a humid climate. Acta Hort. 846:177-184.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., A. A. Abou Kheira, and T. P. Trooien. 2010. Sunflower, soybean, and grain sorghum crop production as affected by dripline depth. Applied Engr. in Agric. 26(5):873-882.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., D. H. Rogers, M. Alam, D. M. OBrien, and T. P. Trooien. 2010 Twenty-One Years of SDI Research in Kansas. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Colby, KS., Feb. 23-24, 2010. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 73-96.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., J. P. Bordovsky, L. J. Schwankl, G. L. Grabow, J. Enciso-Medina, R. T. Peters, P. D. Colaizzi, T. P. Trooien, and D. O. Porter. 2010. Subsurface drip irrigation: Status of the technology in 2010. In: Proc. 5th National Decennial Irrigation Conf., ASABE and the Irrigation Association, Phoenix, Arizona, December 5-8. 14 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F. R., P. D. Colaizzi, J. P. Bordovsky, T. P. Trooien, J. Enciso-Medina, D. O. Porter, D. H. Rogers, and D. M. OBrien. 2010. Can Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) be a Competitive Irrigation System in the Great Plains Region for Commodity Crops? In: Proc. 5th National Decennial Irrigation Conf., ASABE and the Irrigation Association, Phoenix, Arizona, December 5-8. 15 pp.<br /> <br /> Lesikar, Bruce. 2010. Urban Landscapes and In-Home Water Conservation. Rio Grande Basin Initiative Efficient Irrigation for Water Conservation in the Rio Grande Basin. Alpine, TX May 17-20, 2010.<br /> <br /> Lombard, K.A., M.K. ONeill, R. Heyduck, B. Onken, A. Ulery, J. Mexal, D. Smeal, and R. Arnold. 2009. Composted biosolids as a source of iron for hybrid poplars (Populus sp) grown in Northwest New Mexico. Poster presentation at the Second World Congress on Agroforestry. August 23-28, 2009. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Nairobi, Kenya. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/wca2009/posters<br /> <br /> Lombard, K.A., M.K. ONeill, R.F. Heyduck, B. Onken, A.L. Ulery, J.G Mexal, and A. Unc. 2010.Composted biosolids as a source of iron for hybrid poplars (Populus sp) grown in Northwest New Mexico. Agroforestry Systems 81:4556. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v73123244hl383h1/fulltext.pdf.<br /> <br /> Lombard, Kevin, Mick ONeill, John Mexal, April Ulery, Blake Onken, Greg Bettmann, and Robert Heyduck. 2010. Can soil plant analysis development values predict chlorophyll and total Fe in hybrid poplar? Agroforestry Systems 78:111. http://www.springerlink.com/content/p1664562278l7151/fulltext.pdf.<br /> <br /> Loper, S., A.L. Shober, C. Wiese, G.C. Denny, and C.D. Stanley. 2010. Organic soil amendment and tillage affect soil quality and plant performance in simulated residential landscapes. HortScience 45(10): 1522-1528.<br /> <br /> Marek, Thomas and Dana Porter. 2010. Energy Use and Irrigation Scheduling for Efficient Water Use. Publication TR-393 . Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Service. Texas A&M System. College Station, TX. Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://twri.tamu.edu/reports/2010/tr393.pdf<br /> <br /> Marek, Thomas, Terry A. Howell, Richard L. Snyder, Dana Porter and Thomas Scherer. 2010. Crop coefficient development and application to an evapotranspiration network. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9786. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> Marek, Thomas, Thomas Scherer, Dana Porter, Danny Rogers, Joseph Henggeler, and Terry Howell. 2010. What Will it Take to Get Irrigators to Use Advisory Programs? Lessons Learned from the Past 10 Years and Beyond. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9683. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> OBrien, D. M., F. R. Lamm, D. H. Rogers and T. J. Dumler. 2010. How economic factors affect the profitability of center pivot sprinkler and SDI systems. In: Proc. Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Colby, KS., Feb. 23-24, 2010. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 97-109.<br /> ONeill M.K., R.N. Arnold, R. Heyduck, K.A. Lombard, and D. Smeal. 2010. Hybrid poplar in arid regions: the case for a versatile clone, OP-367. Sept 20  25, 2010. Fifth International Poplar Symposium, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IFURO). Orvieto, Italy. http://ocs.entecra.it/index.php/IPS/5/paper/view/188.<br /> <br /> ONeill, M.K., C. C. Shock, K. A. Lombard, R. F. Heyduck, E. B. G. Feibert, D. Smeal, and R. N. Arnold. 2010. Hybrid poplar (Populus ssp.) selections for arid and semi-arid intermountain regions of the western United States. Agroforest Syst. 79:409418.<br /> <br /> ONeill, M.K., C. Shock, K.A. Lombard, R. Heyduck, E. Feibert, D. Smeal, R.N. Arnold. 2009. Hybrid poplar production in the semi-arid Intermountain Western United States. Poster presentation at the Second World Congress on Agroforestry. August 23-28, 2009. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Nairobi, Kenya. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/wca2009/posters<br /> ONeill, M.K., C.C. Shock, K.A. Lombard, R.F. Heyduck, E.B.G. Feibert, D. Smeal and R.N. Arnold. 2010. Hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) selections for arid and semi-arid intermountain regions of the western United States. Agroforestry Systems 79:409-418. http://www.springerlink.com/content/t746n6933u6u81lx/fulltext.pdf.<br /> <br /> Porter, D. O., D. Rogers, T. Marek, F. Lamm, N. Klocke, M. Alam, and T. Howell. 2010. Technology transfer: Promoting irrigation progress and best management practices. In: Proc. 5th National Decennial Irrigation Conf., ASABE and the Irrigation Association, Phoenix, Arizona, December 5-8. 7 pp.<br /> Porter, Dana (Coordinator). 2010. Beltwide Cotton Conference Irrigation Workshop, New Orleans, LA, January 5, 2010. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana O., Freddie Lamm, Larry Schwankl and Ken Schackel. 2009. Microirrigation for sustainable water use: Research and outreach through a multi-state collaboration. In: Proceedings of the 2009 Irrigation Association Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, December 2-5, 2009.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana, Dan Rogers, Thomas Marek, Freddie Lamm, Terry Howell, Mahbub Alam, Norm Klocke. 2010. Technology transfer: promoting irrigation progress and Best Management Practices. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9641. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Management for Texas High Plains Peanut Production. Peanut Workshop. Brownfield, TX. 03/01/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Management in an Integrated Production System. Llano Estacado Cotton Conference. Muleshoe, TX. 01/21/10. <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Management in an Integrated Production System. 2010 Annual Meeting of the High Plains Association of Crop Consultants. Lubbock, TX. 03/02/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Management. Crosby County Soil Moisture Workshop. Lorenzo, TX. 05/05/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Management: Mid-Season to Harvest. Mid-Season Cotton Management Meeting. Plainview, TX. 07/08/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation Technologies. West Plains Agricultural Conference. Levelland, TX. 01/18/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Subsurface Drip Irrigation. Terry County SDI Workshop, Brownfield, TX. 01/19/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation management for water-limited production systems. West Texas Agricultural Chemicals Institute Annual Conference, Lubbock, TX. 09/15/10.<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Irrigation management improves efficiency. Southwest Farm Press. August 30, 2010. Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://southwestfarmpress.com/irrigation/irrigation-management-improves-efficiency<br /> <br /> Porter, Dana. 2010. Optimizing Irrigation: Efficient Irrigation Management in Integrated Production Systems. Salado Regional Meeting of the Texas Agricultural Industries Association. Salado, TX, October 12, 2010.<br /> <br /> Puig-Bargués, J., F. R. Lamm, T. P. Trooien, and G. A. Clark. 2010. Effect of dripline flushing on subsurface drip irrigation systems. Trans ASABE 53(1): 147-155. <br /> <br /> Puig-Bargués, J., G. Arbat, M. Elbana, M. Duran-Ros, J. Barragán, F. Ramírez de Cartagena, and F. R. Lamm. 2010. Effect of flushing frequency on emitter clogging in microirrigation with effluents. Agric. Water Manage. 97(6) 883891.<br /> R. T. Peters, W.H. Neibling and T. Hoffman. 2010. Calculating Chemigation Injection Rates. Pacific Northwest Extension publication PNW 2010-0309. 5pp. <br /> <br /> Ramírez-Builes, V. and E. W. Harmsen. Water Vapor Flux in Agroecosystems Methods and Models Review, Part I and II. Chapters "Evapotranspiration" (ISBN 978-953-7619-X-X), IN-TECH Education and Publishing, Vienna, Austria, European Union.<br /> <br /> Román-Paoli, E., F. Román-Pérez, J. Zamora-Echevarría 2009. Evaluation of microirrigation levels for growth and productivity of avocado trees. J. of Agric. Univ of PR (93):3-4:173-186.<br /> <br /> Román-Paoli, E., F. Román-Pérez, J. Zamora-Echevarría 2010. Increasing pineapple productivity with improved management practices. Proc. 46 Annual Meeting. Caribbean Food Crop Society. <br /> <br /> Shackel KA, Buchner R, Connell J, Edstrom J, Fulton A, Holtz B, Lampinen B, Reil R, Stewart W, Viveros M. 2010. Midday Stem Water Potential as a Basis for Irrigation Scheduling. Proceedings, ASABE 5th National Decennial Irrigation Conference<br /> <br /> Shackel KA. 2010. A plant-based approach to deficit irrigation in trees and vines. HortTechnology (in press)<br /> <br /> Sharma P., M.K. Shukla and T. Sammis. 2010. Predicting soil temperature using air temperature and soil and meteorological parameters. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 26(1):47-58.<br /> <br /> Sharma, P., M. K. Shukla, and J. Mexal. 2010. Spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties in agricultural fields of Southern New Mexico: Implication on irrigation management. New Mexico Water Research Symposium held in New Mexico Tech Campus, Scorro, NM, August 3, 2010.<br /> <br /> Sharma, P., M. K. Shukla, J. Mexal, and T. W. Sammis. 2010. Spatial variability of soil properties in agricultural fields of Southern New Mexico. 2010 International annual meetings, ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Oct. 31Nov. 4, 2010, Long Beach, CA.<br /> <br /> Shober, A.L., C. Wiese, G.C. Denny, C.D. Stanley, and J. Chen. 2010. Plant performance and nutrient losses during containerized bedding plant production using composted dairy manure solids as a peat substitute in substrate. HortScience 45(10):1516-1521. (Submitted)<br /> <br /> Shock, C. C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, L.B. Jenson, K. Mohan, R.S. Sampangi, and H. Pappu. 2010. Management of Onion Cultural Practices to Control the Expression of Iris Yellow Spot Virus. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, 2009 Annual Report:47-65. http://www.cropinfo.net/AnnualReports/2009/OnionManagementIrisYellowSpotVirus2009.html<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2009. Irrigation scheduling by soil water potential. International Irrigation Show of the Irrigation Association. Dec 2 - 4, 2009. San Antonio, TX<br /> Shock, C.C. 2010. Onion irrigation scheduling. Drip Irrigation Conference, Clearwater Supply, February 3, 2010. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. and F.X. Wang. 2010. Soil Water Tension, a Powerful Tool for Productivity and Stewardship. In Water Management and Plant Performance in a Changing Climate. Annual Conference of the American Society of Horticulture Science, August 1-5, 2010, Palm Desert, CA.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. and T. Welch. 2010. Surge irrigation. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques. Oregon State University Malheur Experiment Station. http://www.cropinfo.net/bestpractices/surge_lo_res.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E. Feibert, L. Jensen and J. Klauzer. 2010. Successful Onion Irrigation Scheduling. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques. Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. SR 1097. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/18398/sr1097.pdf?sequence=1<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.B. Jensen, and P. Richerson. 2010. Improving onion production while reducing nitrate loading. In Reducing Water Quality Impacts From Horticultural Crop Production. Annual Conference of the American Society of Horticulture Science, August 1-5, 2010, Palm Desert, CA.<br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and N. Shaw. 2010. Do these plants need irrigation? The 2010 update. Great Basin Native Plant Selection & Increase Project Annual Meeting. January 26-27, 2010. Salt Lake City, UT.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and N. Shaw. 2010. Identification of herbicides for use in native forb seed production. Great Basin Native Plant Selection & Increase Project Annual Meeting. January 26-27, 2010. Salt Lake City, UT.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and N. Shaw. 2010. Native Wildflower Seed Production with Limited Subsurface Drip Irrigation. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, 2009 Annual Report:193-209. http://www.cropinfo.net/AnnualReports/2009/ForbIrrigation2009.html<br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and N. Shaw. 2010. Native Forb Seed Production in Response to Irrigation. Native Plant Seed Growers Workshop: Cultural Practices for Native Plants. February 23, 2010. Ontario, OR. <br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and N. Shaw. 2010. SDI practices for native wildflower seed production. Summer Farm Festival and Annual Field Day, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 13 July 2010. Ontario, OR.<br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, L.B. Jensen, K.S. Mohan, R. Sampangi, and H. Pappu. 2010. Iris Yellow Spot Virus Control Through Stress Reduction. Malheur County, Oregon and Idaho Onion Growers Annual Meeting. February 2, 2010. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, L.B. Jensen, K.S. Mohan, R. Sampangi, and H. Pappu. Onion Variety Trial Report 2009. Malheur County, Oregon and Idaho Onion Growers Annual Meeting. February 2, 2010. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, L.B. Jensen, K.S. Mohan, R. Sampangi, and H. Pappu. 2010. Comparison of irrigation systems and irrigation criteria for onion production under IYSV pressure. Summer Farm Festival and Annual Field Day, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 13 July 2010. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Smeal, D., K. Lombard, M. O'Neill, and R. Arnold. 2010. Chile pepper production in Northwestern New Mexico as related to microirrigation. 20th International Pepper Conference. Las Cruces, NM September 12-14, 2010. Abstract pg. 31. <br /> <br /> Smeal, D., K.A. Lombard, M.K. ONeill, and R.N. Arnold. 2010. Scheduling irrigations on drip-irrigated vegetable crops using climate-based coefficients and canopy measurements. August 2  5, 2010. Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Supplement to HortScience 45(8)216. Palm Desert, CA. http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/vol45/issue8/ Abstract Number 216; page 264<br /> <br /> Smeal, D., M.K. ONeill, K.A. Lombard, and R.N. Arnold. 2010. Climate-based coefficients for scheduling irrigations in urban xeriscapes. December 5 - 8, 2010. 5th National Decennial Irrigation Conference. Sponsored jointly by ASABE and the Irrigation Association. Phoenix, AZ.<br /> Software to compare the economics of conversion to center pivot sprinkler irriagtion or subsurface drip irrigation from furrow irrigation for corn production was updated and released to the public, January, 2010 http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Software/CP_SDI10.xls<br /> Software to determine optimum planned corn area and plant population for SDI was updated and released to the public, January, 2010 http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Software/COpt_SDI10.xls<br /> <br /> Stanley, C.D., and G.S. Toor. 2010. Florida commercial horticultural production: constraints limiting water and nutrient use efficiency. HortTechnology. 20: 8993.<br /> <br /> Stanley, Craig D. Effectiveness of water and nutrient BMPs to meet regulatory requirements for commercial strawberry production in Florida, USA. In: Gilkes, RJ, Prakongkep N, editors. Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science; Soil Solutions for a Changing World; ISBN 978-0-646-53783-2; Published on DVD; http://www.iuss.org; Symposium 3.2.2; Improved water and soil management using lysimeters; 2010 Aug 1-6. Brisbane, Australia:2010, pp 1-3.<br /> <br /> Toor, G.S. Lu, H. & C.D. Stanley. 2010. Assessment of water quality in a drinking water reservoir located on Lake Manatee, Florida. Journal of Environmental Monitoring (submitted April 2010).

Impact Statements

1. Surveys of participants conducted by TX in the workshop, Effective and Efficient Irrigation in Cotton Production, held in New Orleans, LA January 5, 2010, indicated very favorable response to the educational quality and content of the event. Overall increases in knowledge (by category/topic) were indicated in survey responder self-assessment indicators. Surveys also indicated very high percentages of intent to adopt efficient irrigation technologies and best management practices addressed in the curriculum and workshop events.
2. Research from Colorado shows that high salinity ground water can be used to successfully grow muskmelons with a well-managed drip irrigation system. Both yields and quality of muskmelons were not significantly influenced by the use of higher salinity ground water source compared to a lower salinity surface water source.
3. Research from Iowa shows that using capacitance sensors operating at two different can probably allow for simultaneous sensing of soil water content and pore water nitrate concentration. Off-the-shelf soil moisture sensors operating at 5 MHz and 70 MHz showed a weak but statistically significant nitrate signal when used together. Results of tests of aqueous solutions suggested that it will be possible to hone in on the breakpoint in sensor operating frequency, below which the sensor responds to soil moisture and the nitrate ion concentration specifically, and above which the sensor responds only to soil moisture. This will likely allow for the development of a dual-frequency sensor with ion-selective or species-specific sensing capabilities (for example, sensing nitrate only, rather than ionic concentration from all ions together), allowing for the simultaneous monitoring of soil water content and soil water nitrate status/movement.
4. Earlier research in Kansas has identified situations in corn production under subsurface drip irrigation where the number of kernels/ear is negatively affected resulting in yield decreases as much as 1 Mg/ha as compared to some types of sprinkler irrigation. Research such as being conducted in this project can identify the rationale behind these yield reductions and devise strategies to avoid them.
5. In Kansas, the identification of rodent damage and perceptions about subsurface drip irrigation performance uncertainties as key issues across the entire US is important for increasing SDI adoption. The development of procedures and publications to address these issues can be a good focal point for a portion of the project.
6. In Oregon, irrigation scheduling by soil water tension allows growers to use water more precisely. Calibration of soil moisture instruments promotes improved irrigation scheduling with greater precision and confidence.
7. In Oregon, better use of irrigation systems and irrigation criteria for onions are increasing onion yields and reducing environmental consequences of onion irrigation. Environmental consequences of onion production are less because water and nutrient applications are very close to the actual needs of onion.
8. Though Puerto Rico has a tropical environment with seasonal high rainfall events, but most of cash crops are planted in the southern region of the island which is characterized by low rainfall. Drip irrigation is widely used in that region. Farmers are not using any irrigation scheduling method, so years of ground water pumping are reducing the aquifers and causing salt water inclusion from the sea. Research and extension activities area targeted to farmers at that area to teach them the importance of using an irrigation scheduling method to reduce water losses.
9. In NY-Geneva Direct measurements of apple and grape basal ET and magnitude of water stress in the cool humid climate of NY has provided NY growers with general guidelines for irrigation. In apples it was found that normal ETo *Crop Coefficient method from arid zones overestimated irrigation requirements by as much as 100% in cool year. Installation of irrigation has greatly reduced crop losses in value due to drought and improved water use measures have saved water required.
10. In Florida, although no impacts can be reported at this time since the study has just been initiated, the potential for substantial water savings by the strawberry industry is great if this practice is adopted.
11. A California Almond Board sponsored grower survey has indicated that about 20% of almond growers are currently using the pressure chamber to schedule irrigation. This represents a major impact on industry practice.
12. In New Mexico, the experimental results showed that TDR can be used to monitor diurnal soil moisture content variation in both soils. The irrigation efficiencies were very similar for furrow and drip irrigation systems. However, the results indicate that shifting from furrow irrigation to drip irrigation can lower NO3-N leaching; improve N use efficiency with lower water inputs.
13. In New Mexico, research showed that bud break in Pecan roots is very sensitive to the soil water electrical conductivity.
14. The 1 D model developed by New Mexico over estimated seasonal ET compared to the measured values for onions by 20% and for chile by 12%. The 2 D model over estimates seasonal ET compared to the measured values for onion by 5% and for chile by 8%. Therefore, the 2 D model is recommended for scheduling irrigation for trickle irrigated shallow rooted crops. For deep rooted crops both the 1D and 2D models give reasonable results but the 2 D model simulates the seasonal water balance better than the 1 D model. Use of the new 2 D model will improve irrigation efficiency for shallow rooted crops and decrease pollution to the ground water.
15. In Farmington, NM, drip irrigated hybrid poplar production in northwest New Mexico had the highest mean yield of 48 kg per tree (148 Mg ha-1) compared to seven other locations in a multilocational biofuel trial in the western United States.
16. In Farmington, NM, expanding phytoremediation work at the former site of a petroleum refinery. The project was initiated in 2010 using drip irrigation to establish hybrid poplar, local poplar, and shrubby species. This may provide a starting point for potential projects associated with the petroleum industry in our area.
17. Farmington, NM, identified flow rates and application uniformities of several models of drip emitters, drip tubing and drip tape at water pressures lower than recommended by the manufacturers. Measured flow rates of all emitters were lower than those specified at recommended pressure but application uniformities were greater than 0.90 for three point source emitters, one line source drip tubing and one drip tape.
18. In Farmington, NM, formulated climate and plant canopy based adjustment factors and formulae for scheduling microirrigations on drought-tolerant landscape plants and vegetable crops.

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Report Information

Participants

1. Loring, Steve (Administrative Advisor) (sloring@nmsu.edu)--NMSU
2. Sammis, Ted (tsammis@nmsu.edu)--NMSU
3. O'Neil, Michael (moneill@nmsu.edu)--NMSU
4. Shukla, Manoj K (Acting Chair) (shuklamk@nmsu.edu)--NMSU
5. Deb, Sanjit (sanjit@nmsu.edu) (Manojs postdoc)--NMSU
6. Paoli, Elvin (elvin.roman@upr.edu)--University of Puerto Rico
7. Schwankl, Lawrence (schwankl@uckac.edu)--UC
8. Stanley, Craig (cdstan@ufl.edu)--UFL
9. Porter, Dana (dporter@tamu.edu)--Texas AgriLife Research
10. Shock, Clinton (Clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu)--Oregon State University
11. Nandawani, Dilip (dnandwa@uvi.edu)--University of The Virgin Islands
12. Shackel, Kenneth (kashackel@ucdavis.edu)--UC, Davis
13. Lamm, Freddie (flamm@ksu.edu)--KSU
14. Garcia y Garcia, Axel (Secretary) (axel.garcia@uwyo.edu)--University of Wyoming

Brief Summary of Minutes

The 2011 meeting was organized at Las Cruces, NM. Manoj Shukla, Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:20 am with a welcome and introduced the administrative officer, Dr. Steve Loring. Attendees introduced themselves. Steve Loring, adviser for the group, introduced himself and spoke on the importance of microirrigation in NM. He also shared his thoughts on different issues, including the future Federal Budget, the new AFRI grants, support from the Secretary of Ag, and the Specialty Crops program, the economic problems/budget cuts in most states, among others. Sammis and Lamm requested information about the Farm Bill.

Shukla opened the discussion on future meetings strategy. Among others, virtual meeting options were discussed but most of the participants did not welcome the idea. The tradition on having the meeting at the upcoming Vice-Chair place was discussed. The Secretary, Axel Garcia y Garcia from the University of Wyoming and upcoming vice-chair, talked about the pros and cons of holding the 2012 meeting in Wyoming, including the possibility of an earlier meeting due to weather conditions in the region and connections from Salt Lake City, UT, Denver, CO, and even flying to Billings, MT, and then driving to Powell, WY. Due to the cost and distance, a central place, such as Las Vegas/Reno, NV, and Orlando, FL, were proposed as alternative places to Wyoming for the 2012 meeting. As for Lamm, at centralized place we'll lose connection with university people; Schwankl added that the opportunity of technical trips will also be lost. If no other solution, Lamm suggested having a central place for a couple of years while the situation improves; then, return to normal.

Sammis brought to discussion an important issue: how to get other participants listed to attend the meetings. Lamm suggested that having our meeting along with the Irrigation Association (IA) meeting in Orlando, FL (4-5 November, 2012) and having a specific session at the meeting may get other people's interest to participate. Craig, from UFL, was asked whether he would be willing to organize the meeting and he acknowledged. Participants were asked for papers to be presented in the session; around half of the participants were willing to prepare a paper for the session. Porter said that accommodation might be an issue if our meeting is in or around Orlando, FL, but Craig suggested other options. Most participants agreed on holding our 2012 meeting in Orlando, FL. More discussion might be needed later.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Compare irrigation scheduling technologies and develop grower-appropriate scheduling products.<br /> <br /> California<br /> In UC Davis, a novel approach for the automated, in-situ measurement of plant stress (stem water potential, SWP) was evaluated in cherry, almond and grape under field conditions. Results show great promise for this technology, but that additional development will be needed in insulation technology and a reliable temperature compensation methodology.<br /> Idaho<br /> Data collection was initiated in 2011 using Watermark soil water sensors placed at 30 and 60 cm depths connected using wireless technology to an Irrometer receiver / data logger to schedule irrigation of strip-till and conventional till sugarbeet plots on a silt loam soil. Soil water content at 30-cm increments to 150 cm was also measured using a neutron probe. Irrigation schedules based on Watermarks, AgriMet ET estimation and neutron probe will be compared. Irrigation schedules using either neutron probe or AgriMet on silage corn will also be compared.<br /> Iowa<br /> In Iowa, a methodology for using topography and soils data to determine optimal placement of soil moisture sensors was developed, enabling a representative average soil moisture content to be obtained for an entire field based on just a handful of samples. <br /> Kansas<br /> In Kansas, research continued on evaluating the effect of early season water stresses on corn production. A presentation of this research was given at the annual international meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). <br /> In Kansas, analysis was completed on a three year study of subsurface drip irrigated alfalfa. Results indicate that a 1.5 dripline spacing is acceptable for alfalfa production and that an irrigation level designed to replace 85% of crop evapotranspiration is recommended. A paper was presented at the Irrigation Association annual technical conference. <br /> New Mexico<br /> A field calibration of TDR sensors was carried out by pooling all the data collected from four depths (0-20, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 cm) at three locations under sandy loam and silt loam soil. Soil samples were also collected from each sensor depth two, four, six, ten and 13 days after irrigation for three irrigations and were converted to volumetric water content by multiplying with the soil bulk density. The optimization using the pooled TDR and measured water content did not provide a unique polynomial equation for all depths. However, when optimization was carried out for each location and depth separately, new coefficients provided a good agreement between TDR and measured water content with coefficient of determination always > 0.85. These results were published in Irrigation Science Journal and are available on-line.<br /> Several species in the oomycetous genus Phytophthora cause severe damage to specialty crops. Although Phytophthora species attack different plant species, the abiotic and biotic factors that determine plant infection and disease development are similar for all species of Phytophthora. An increased understanding of how Phytophthora species and their interaction with specialty crops are influenced by abiotic and biotic factors -would improve crop management and prevent or limit yield loss. Thrall et al (1997) has presented a simple life cycle model which describes the relationship between host and pathogen population density throughout the growing season, and over winter, for both natural and agricultural systems. This model was combined with a soil water budgets and irrigation scheduling models, Andales et al. (2006) and Ben Asher et al. (1986) Sammis et al., (1990) to predict the disease incidence of Phytophthora capsici under different irrigation scenarios. The combined host-pathogen irrigation model was tested against an experiment conducted in 1995 on Brazito sandy loam soil (mixed, thermic typic torripsamments) located at the Fabian Garcia Agricultural Research Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico using the linear probability of infection function. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three irrigation levels (daily trickle irrigation, 3-day trickle irrigation and alternate row furrow irrigation ) and two Phytophthora levels (non-infected (control) and infected). The experiment began in 1995 and was repeated in 1996. Every row was furrow irrigated during transplant establishment and switched to alternate row furrow irrigation thereafter. The model was also tested against an experiment conducted on drip irrigated bell peppers (variety Deystone Resistant Giant) artifically infested with Phytopthora capsici conducted by Ristaino 1991 and Ristaino and Hord 1992 in Clayton, N.C. in 1988 and 1989. Plots were drip irrigated 3 times and 15 timed during the 1988 growing season and 6 irrigations during the 1989 growing season after being infected with three levels of inoculum and a control. The disease incidence predicted by the model followed the measured data except early in the growing season where disease incidence development occurred sooner than predicted by the model for both the chile and bell pepper experiments. <br /> New York<br /> An apple-specific Penman-Monteith equation for the NY climate was developed to provide local daily estimates of water use for irrigation scheduling, and has been programmed into the daily calculations of the Climate Center at Cornell based on weather inputs from stations in apple-growing regions of NY. Research irrigation trials in commercial orchards were begun in 2011 validating this revised method. To allow continuous monitoring of plant water stress as basis for irrigation, we have developed a microfluidic microtensiometer using nanofabrication MEMS technology that has the same principle as large soil tensiometers but is only 2x5 mm. It is designed to embed in the trunk of perennial plants to directly measure stem water potential and also as a sensor in a soil tensiometer. Initial testing has been accurate down to -35 bars. <br /> Oregon<br /> Corn lily (Veratrum californicum) is being grown with automated drip irrigation at soil water tension (SWT) irrigation criteria of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 kPa (4 replicates each) at both 2,150 and 4,900 feet elevation in OR and ID, respectively. Preliminary results show that irrigation at 10 kPa provides reasonable growth with much lower water inputs that irrigation at 5 kPa.<br /> Irrigation criteria is being examined for seed production of 20 native perennial plant species that the US Forest Service and BLM have determined would be highly desirable for rangeland restoration. Each species is being grown in a semi-arid environment at Ontario, OR using subsurface drip irrigation in replicated plots with three irrigation treatments (0, 100, and 200 mm/yr total irrigation) repeated over years. Species requirements for optimal seed yield differ from 0 to 200 mm. Results vary with year (variable rainfall) and disease load. None of the species appear to need irrigation more than 200 mm to optimize seed yield.<br /> Soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling instruments are being calibrated in a hanging, weighing lysimeter in a controlled temperature growth chamber and in the field in a heavy clay soil and in fine sand. Sensor performance is being measured through wetting and drying cycles at different temperatures. Instruments being compared include tensiometers, granular matrix sensors (GMS), hybrid sensors, thermocouple psychrometer readings, and capacitance probes. <br /> The above mentioned results are being communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written, and on line reports.<br /> Puerto Rico<br /> Puerto Rico has developed a procedure to estimate evapotranspiration using the remote sensing approach. Work in 2011 was initiated to expand those evapotranspiration estimates to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Puerto Rico algorithm estimates the daily water balance, which is useful for water resource management. Two publications resulted from support from this project and two other manuscripts are currently being developed.<br /> Texas<br /> A statewide assessment of Evapotranspiration (ET) networks was completed. This assessment addressed infrastructure, sensor quality, standardization, funding, data QA/QC, data delivery, and other issues. Technical and operations/management recommendations were developed and presented to ET Network managers and the Texas Water Development Board. <br /> A Water Management website (watermgmt.tamu.edu) was developed as a foundation for technology transfer of irrigation research and extension programs in the Texas High Plains. Information on the website includes an online user profile tool (irrigation scheduling platform using automated and manual input data to maintain crop water use and soil water storage balance); irrigation scheduling spreadsheet; educational videos and other informational resources.<br /> Wyoming <br /> An approach for the integration of biophysical factors, including stomatal conductance, soil moisture, and canopy temperature, is being studied. Preliminary results from a corn study conducted in a SDI field showed a functional relationship between the crop water stress index (CWSI), soil moisture, and stomatal conductance.<br /> <br /> Objective 2: Develop design, management and maintenance recommendations<br /> <br /> Arizona<br /> In Arizona, research is underway to develop of apps for design and management of SDI. This requires integrating both the soil and water relation and the hydraulic design aspects to a level that will be compatible with different smart phone operating systems. It also involves conversion of what is developed for microcomputer application into smart phone applications.<br /> The idea behind this development is to make it easier for farmers, extension specialists, and design engineers of SDI systems communicate in real time using the latest technological advances especially in regards to management of the SDI system.<br /> California<br /> UC Davis - Hopmans - New leaching guidelines were developed to minimize negative consequences of irrigating with saline waters. Irrigating with lower leaching fractions provides a more efficient use of limited water supplies. Guidelines are going to be published in California Agriculture magazine, so that farmers and irrigation managers will adopt the new guidelines.<br /> Additional activities include continuation of sensitivity analyses using computer simulation studies to evaluate variations in drip spacing, drip- line depth and irrigation frequency on leaching, soil salinity and crop yield. Much of this, material has extensively been used as supporting material to educate farm advisors on irrigation water management workshops. <br /> Kansas<br /> In Kansas, an analysis was conducted in cooperation with Texas AgriLife faculty of a number of older subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems in Texas. Results have indicated there is very little correlation in system uniformity and system life with the oldest system (20 years) having the greatest uniformity. Uniformity problems on nearly two-thirds of the systems appeared to have been exacerbated by incorrect operating pressure (both too low and too high) with the six best performing systems operating between 65 and 100% of the manufacturer's specified nominal operating pressure. A journal paper has been prepared and accepted on this research. <br /> Presentations were made at the regional Central Plains Irrigation Conference concerning long term research results with SDI systems in Kansas and about economic comparisons of SDI with center pivot sprinkler irrigation. At this meeting attended by water agency staff, crop consultants and producers, Kansas also displayed a number of standalone SDI informational posters and distributed free CD-Rom disks containing additional SDI information. <br /> Joint technology transfer efforts concerning SDI involving Kansas State University, Texas AgriLife and USDA-ARS were continued in 2011. These efforts included presentations at local, regional and national meetings. <br /> Oregon<br /> Drip, sprinkler, and furrow irrigation systems were being compared during 2007-2011 for onion yield, grade, storability, and thrips and iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) expression. Onion yield under drip irrigation was superior to sprinkler irrigation three of four growing seasons.<br /> Various drip irrigation SWT criteria from 10 to 30 kPa were compared during 2007-2011 for onion yield, grade, storability, and thrips and iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) expression. Onion yield and grade decreased with drier irrigation criteria. When IYSV was more severe, onion performance was more negatively affected by drier irrigation criteria.<br /> Results are being communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written, and on line reports.<br /> Puerto Rico<br /> Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is an important crop in Puerto Rico. Due to a devastating fungal disease in regions of traditional production (in wetland areas), taro has practically disappeared. In those areas. A study to determine the response of taro to SDI and plant tolerance to fungus when grown in dry conditions (like southern PR) was initiated. With the SDI technology and changes in traditional management systems, the crop can be produced commercially. Preliminary results showed that the quality and size of taro grown under a SDI system were very good. Several farmers showed interested on using the technology in their farms.<br /> Texas<br /> Lubbock, Texas - Irrigation system design, management and maintenance recommendations were presented to target audiences (including agricultural producers, crop consultants, irrigation professionals and others) at meetings (conferences, workshops); through news releases and regional newsletters; and through individual contacts.<br /> In Bushland, Texas, crop germination, yield, and water use efficiency was evaluated for two different subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) permanent bed designs (standard beds at 0.76-m centers and wide bed-twin row beds at 1.52-m centers), three drip lateral installation depths (0.15, 0.22, and 0.30-m), and four irrigation treatments (dryland, 33%, 67%, and 100% of full crop water requirements determined by neutron probe). Winter wheat was evaluated during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 growing seasons. Each season contrasted sharply in climatic conditions, with the 2009-10 season characterized by El Niño conditions with above average precipitation and below average temperatures, and the 2010-11 season characterized by La Niña conditions with record drought (~100 mm in-season precipitation) and record high temperatures. In the 2009-10 season, no significant differences in crop germination, grain yield, or water use efficiency were observed for the two bed designs or three drip lateral installation depths. In the 2010-11 season, crop germination, grain yield, and water use efficiency were significantly different across irrigation treatments, and these were less for each irrigation treatment compared with the 2009-10 season. Within an irrigation treatment, crop germination, grain yield, and water use efficiency were highly variable, but were not correlated to bed design or lateral installation depth. Therefore, crop germination, yield, and water use efficiency of winter wheat were not responsive to bed design or lateral installation depth in either year.<br /> In a concurrent experiment, crop germination, yield, and water use efficiency was compared for spray, LEPA, and subsurface drip irrigation at different irrigation treatments (dryland, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of full crop water requirements determined by neutron probe). Grain corn was evaluated during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In 2009, there were no significant differences in grain yield and water use efficiency for MESA, LESA, and SDI for the 100% irrigation rate; however, grain yield and water use efficiency was significantly greater for SDI compared with MESA and LESA at the 50 and 75% irrigation rates. Overall grain yields were lower than expected in 2009 due to soil water shortages and very high atmospheric demand around anthesis. In 2010, which was a more typical year, there were no significant differences in grain yield and water use efficiency for MESA, LESA, and SDI for all irrigation rates. In both years, grain yield and water use efficiency with LEPA was smaller compared with the other methods, which may have been related to furrow dike erosion resulting in runoff away from the yield sample area of the plots.<br /> <br /> Objective 3: Develop best management practices for application of agrochemicals<br /> <br /> Arizona<br /> In Arizona, research is under way to use computational fluid dynamics to understand distribution of chemicals and organisms applied or introduced through SDI systems. This is mainly to address security of the food production system from disease causing organisms introduced either intentionally or by accidentally.<br /> California<br /> New leaching guidelines were developed to minimize negative consequences of irrigating with saline waters. Irrigating with lower leaching fractions provides a more efficient use of limited water supplies. Guidelines are going to be published in California Agriculture magazine, so that farmers and irrigation managers will adopt the new guidelines.<br /> Additional activities include continuation of sensitivity analyses using computer simulation studies to evaluate variations in drip spacing, drip- line depth and irrigation frequency on leaching, soil salinity and crop yield. Much of this, material has extensively been used as supporting material to educate farm advisors on irrigation water management workshops.<br /> Kansas<br /> In Kansas, research continued evaluating the effect of nitrogen fertigation through subsurface drip irrigation on corn with three timings of N application and two irrigation levels. The goal of this research is to evaluate if carefully timed nitrogen application will maximize the yield component of kernels/ear.<br /> New Mexico<br /> In New Mexico, Pecan roots were planted in pots during 2008-2010 and were drip irrigated with solutions of EC of 1.5, 3, 5.5, and 7.5 dS/m. The project aims to evaluate the effects of different salinity levels on physiological properties of Pecan roots including bud break, canopy development, nitrogen and chloride uptake and salt tolerance. A lab test on scorched leaves did not detect the presence of bacteria (Xylella fastidiosa) responsible for Pecan Bacterial leaf spot, therefore, it was confirmed that the leaf scorching was only due to salt stress imposed on plants. No leaves were observed in the second year plants irrigated with water of salinity >5 dS m-1. The plants became stunted with decreasing stem diameter and nitrogen and chloride uptake increased with increasing salinity of irrigation water.<br /> Puerto Rico<br /> In Puerto Rico, an study to evaluate fertilization strategies for Tahití lime (Citrus latifolia) and pineapple (Ananas comosus) was conducted. The use of drip irrigation systems became important not only for the application of irrigation but also for the proper management of fertilization in wetter conditions than normal by reducing the chance for nutrients losses.<br /> Texas<br /> Research-based recommendations have been developed for fertility management of subsurface drip irrigated cotton in the Texas Southern High Plains. Additional information will be incorporated as it becomes available to further develop and expand recommendations for additional crops and conditions.<br /> <br /> Objective 4: Evaluate use of non-potable water through microirrigation<br /> <br /> No activity is reported for this period

Publications

Colaizzi, PD, PH Gowda, TH Marek, and DO Porter. 2009. Irrigation in the Texas High Plains: A brief history and potential reductions in demand. Irrig. and Drain. 58(3): 257-274.<br /> <br /> Colaizzi, PD, SR Evett, and TA Howell. 2011. Corn production with spray, LEPA, and SDI. In Proc. 23rd Annual Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Burlington, CO., February 22-23, 2011. Available from CPIA, 760 N. Thompson, Colby, Kansas.<br /> <br /> Deb S, MK Shukla, P Sharma, and J Mexal. 2011. Patterns of Soil Water Depletion In Irrigated Pecan Orchards In the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Southern New Mexico. International Annual Meeting of Soil Science Society of America, San Antonio, Texas.<br /> <br /> Deb SK, MK Shukla, P Sharma, and JG Mexal. 2011. Patterns of soil water depletion in irrigated mature pecans of arid southern New Mexico. Irrigation Science. DOI: 10.1007/s00271-011-0293-1.<br /> <br /> Dragoni, D and AN Lakso. 2011. An apple-specific ET model. Acta Hort. 903:1175-1180.<br /> <br /> Ha, W, PH. Gowda, T Oommen, TH Marek, DO Porter, and TA Howell. 2011. Spatial interpolation of daily reference evapotranspiration in the Texas High Plains. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2011. Bearing Knowledge for Sustainability Proceedings of the 2011 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, May 22-26, 2011, Palm Springs, CA, pp 2796-2804.<br /> <br /> Hanson, BR, DE May, J Simunek, JW Hopmans, and RB Hutmacher.2009. Drip irrigation provides for profitable irrigation of tomatoes in the San Joaquin Valley. California Agriculture. 63(3):131-136.<br /> <br /> Lamm, F R and AA Aboukheira. 2011. Effect of early season water stress on corn in northwest Kansas. ASABE paper no. 1111338. Available from ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. 11 pp.<br /> <br /> Lamm, FR, DH Rogers, M Alam, DM OBrien, and TP Trooien. 2011. Twenty-two years of SDI research in Kansas. In: Proc. 23rd annual Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Burlington, Colorado, Feb. 22-23, 2011. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 68-92.<br /> <br /> Lamm, FR, DM OBrien, DH Rogers, and TJ Dumler. 2011. Using the K-State center pivot sprinkler and SDI economic comparison spreadsheet - 2011. In: Proc. 23rd annual Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Burlington, Colorado, Feb. 22-23, 2011. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 93-103.<br /> <br /> Lamm, FR, KR Harmoney, AA Aboukheira, and SK Johnson. 2011. Subsurface drip irrigation of alfalfa. In: Proc. 2011 Irrigation Association Tech. Conf., San Diego, California, November 6-8, 2011. Available from the IA, Falls Church, VA. 10 pp.<br /> <br /> Letey, J, GJ Hoffman; JW Hopmans; SR Grattan; D Suarez; DL Corwin; JD Oster; L Wu; and C. Amrhein. 2011. Evaluation of Soil Salinity Leaching Requirement Guidelines. Agricultural Water Management. Vol 98(4): 502-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.08.009.<br /> <br /> Lombard, K A, MK O'Neill, AL Ulery, J Mexal, B Onken,S Forster-Cox, TW Sammis. 2011. Fly ash and composted biosolids as a source of Fe for hybrid poplar: a greenhouse study. Applied and Environmental Soil Science, 2011, 11p.<br /> <br /> Lombard, K A, MK O'Neill, RF Heyduck, BM Onken, AL Ulery, J Mexal, A Unc. 2011. Composted biosolids as a source of iron for hybrid poplars (Populus sp) grown in Northwest New Mexico. Agroforestry Systems, 81(1), 45-56.<br /> <br /> Marek, T and D Porter. 2010. Energy use and irrigation scheduling for efficient water use. Publication TR-393. Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Service. Texas A&M System. College Station, TX. (Last access December 14, 2010 at: http://twri.tamu.edu/reports/2010/tr393.pdf.<br /> <br /> Marek, T, D Porter, N Kenny, P Gowda, T Howell, and J Moorhead. 2011. Educational Enhancements to the Texas High Plains Evapotranspiration (ET) Network. Final Report, Contract No. 0903580956. Texas Water Development Board, Austin, TX. Publication AREC 2011-8. Available online at: http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/RWPG/rpgm_rpts/0903580956_evapotranspitration.pdf. Accessed December 15, 2011.<br /> <br /> Marek, T, D Porter, P Gowda, T Howell, and J Moorhead. 2010. Assessment of Texas Evapotranspiration (ET) Networks). Final project report for Texas Water Development Board Contract No. 0903580904. Texas AgriLife Research Center at Amarillo.<br /> <br /> Marek, T, T Scherer, D Porter, D Rogers, J Henggeler, and T Howell. 2010. What Will it Take to Get Irrigators to Use Advisory Programs? Lessons Learned from the Past 10 Years and Beyond. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9683. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> Marek, T, TA Howell, RL Snyder, D. Porter, and T Scherer. 2010. Crop coefficient development and application to an evapotranspiration network. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9786. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> Porter, D, D Rogers, T Marek, F Lamm, T Howell, M Alam, N Klocke. 2010. Technology transfer: promoting irrigation progress and Best Management Practices. ASABE Paper No. IRR10-9641. Proceedings of the 5th Decennial Irrigation Symposium, The Irrigation Association and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Phoenix, AZ. December 4-8, 2010.<br /> <br /> Qi, Z, M Helmers, and A Kaleita. 2011. Soil water dynamics under various agricultural land covers on a subsurface drained field in north-central Iowa, USA. Agricultural Water Management. 98(4): 665-674.<br /> <br /> Ramirez, VH, TG Porch, and EW Harmsen. 2011. Genotypic differences in Water Use Efficiency of Common Bean under Drought Stress. Agronomy Journal Vol. 103, Issue 4, pgs. 1206-1215.<br /> <br /> Ramírez-Builes, VH and EW Harmsen. 2011. Water Vapor Flux in Agroecosystems: Methods and Models Review, published in the book Evapotranspiration edited byLeszek Labedzki, ISBN: 978-953-307-251-7, InTech, Publishing.<br /> <br /> Sabo, JL, T Sinha, LC Bowling, GHW Schoups, WW Wallender, ME Campanas, KA Cherkauer, P Fuller, WL Graf, JW Hopmans, JS Kominoski, C Taylor, SW Trimble, RH Webb, and EE Wohl. Reclaiming sustainability in the Cadillac Desert. 2010. PNAS 107(50):21263-270. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1009734108. <br /> <br /> Sammis, T W, P Sharma, MK Shukla, J Wang, and DR Miller. 2011. A water balance trickle irrigation scheduling model. 2011 ASABE Annual Meeting. Gault House, Louisville, Kentucky, August 7  10, 2011, Paper Number: 1110933.<br /> <br /> Shackel, K, B Sanden, B Lampinen, S Metcalf, G Spinelli, P Brown, S Saa Silva, S Muhammad, W Stewart, J Edstrom, R Duncan, R Rosecrance, B Beede, F Niederholzer, A Olivos. 2011. Fertigation: Interaction of Water Management and Nutrient Management in Almond. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shackel, K, D Doll, C Reisser, E Russell. 2011. Plant-Based Measures of Water Stress for Irrigation Management in Multiple Almond Varieties. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shackel, K, J Edstrom, A Fulton, B Lampinen, L Schwankl, A Olivos, W Stewart, S Cutter, S Metcalf, H Munoz, G Spinelli. 2011. Drought Survival Strategies for Established Almond Orchards on Shallow Soil. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shock, CC and FX Wang. 2011. Soil water tension, a powerful measurement for productivity and stewardship. HortScience 46:178-185.<br /> <br /> Shock, CC. 2011. Malheur County Best Management Practices. Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University. http://www.cropinfo.net/bestpractices/Malcountybmp.html (Last access: January 3, 2011).<br /> Smeal, D, KA Lombard, MM West, MK O'Neill, and RN Arnold. 2011. Low pressure drip irrigation for small plots and urban landscapes. New Mex. St. Univ. Agric. Exp. Sta. Res. Rpt. 773.<br /> <br /> Stewart WL, Fulton AE, Krueger WH, Lampinen BD, Shackel KA. 2011. Regulated deficit irrigation reduces water use of almonds without affecting yield. Cal Ag. 65: 90-99.<br /> <br /> Wang, FX, XX Wu, CC Shock, LY Chu, XX Gu, and X Xue. 2011. The effects of drip irrigation regimes and plastic mulch on potato tuber yield and quality in arid Northwestern China. Field Crops Research. 122:78-84.

Impact Statements

1. Arizona is promoting the use of Smartphone technology in communication and data transfer to help farmers, extension specialists, and scientists to make wise decisions in real time without the need to travel long distances. This will have a significant cost reduction and energy saving in the operation and management of SDI systems.
2. Arizona is also conducting a study aiming to understand the temporal and spatial distribution of disease causing organisms introduced intentionally or accidentally. The results are expected to will help save life by taking preventive measures before it spreads to the public at large.
3. As part of an ongoing Almond Board of California irrigation sustainability project, a survey of 198 almond growers representing 36,000 acres, indicates that 38% of almond growers use the pressure chamber and midday stem water potential (SWP) to manage irrigation, comparable to the 43% of growers using real-time ET. This represents a major impact on industry practice. There has also been a markedly increasing rate of use of the term stem water potential in the scientific literature, reaching a cumulative value of about 170 in 2010. This also represents a major shift in academic interest in this method.
4. Computer model simulations with associated sensitivity analyses are being used to provide for new guidelines for more efficient water use, which is extremely relevant for most regions in the world that require irrigation to grow crops. Field experiments are being conducted to determine optimal fertilization of irrigated crops, so as to minimize leaching of fertilizers go the groundwater and maximizing nutrient efficiency.
5. Crop water stress due to inadequate irrigation generally reduces crop yield and/or quality. Excessive irrigation generally reduces crop yield and/or quality due to chronically wet, poorly aerated, higher disease incidence soil. Deep leaching of N and other water-soluble crop nutrients can also reduce crop yield/quality while adversely impacting shallow ground water. Measured or estimated soil water content with depth and time are useful in scheduling irrigation timing and amount for best crop production and environmental protection. Irrigation scheduling approaches must be relatively simple and user-friendly to assure grower adoption on a large scale.
6. Preliminary results indicate that both AgriMet water-balance scheduling and watermark soil water sensors are acceptable irrigation scheduling tools although field experience indicates that growers usually prefer a sensor-based approach over a water balance approach because of the extra inputs and analysis required for the water balance method. This is true even if the water balance method is computer or web-based. Level of user acceptance is still relatively low in medium to low-value crops grown in Idaho. However, adoption level will rise as water becomes more scarce or limited.
7. Sensor and data logger installation techniques have been developed for perennial crops like alfalfa to eliminate the need for growers to harvest without the need to remove or move the sensors, connecting wires or data logger for harvest. It is hoped that this modification or the wireless data logging system tested this year will encourage more growers to adopt this scheduling technology. Several growers in a related study have continued to use soil water sensors extensively after project completion to most effectively irrigate with a limited water supply.
8. Research from Kansas showed that reduction or elimination of non-beneficial water losses such as runoff, deep percolation and soil water evaporation allow producers to decrease subsurface drip irrigation of alfalfa by 15%or more without affecting yield.
9. Irrigation vs. disease research is being conducted in New Mexico. The objective is to develop a conceptual model of the life cycle of Phytophthora capsici and the disease development on chile and bell peppers as affected by soil temperature and wet dry soil moisture cycles caused by irrigation or rainfall events for drip and furrow irrigation systems. The model runs define the critical level of Phytophthora capsici at the beginning of the growing season and impact this level has on the final disease incidence along with the impact of irrigation timing and amount. The model showed that overwintering levels can vary and that on those years where Phytophthora capsici levels in the soil at the beginning of the growing season are high, great care is needed to manage the irrigation water. In those years where initial levels of Phytophthora capsici are low, the management of irrigation water is less important.
10. In New Mexico, experimental results showed that TDR can be used to monitor diurnal soil moisture content variation in different soils. They also found that the bud break in Pecan roots, development and survival of young Pecan trees is sensitive to the soil salinity.
11. Direct measurements of apple and grape basal ET and magnitude of water stress in the cool humid climate of NY has provided NY growers with general guidelines for irrigation. In apples it was found that normal ETo *Crop Coefficient method from arid zones overestimated irrigation requirements by as much as 100% in cool year. Installation of irrigation has greatly reduced crop losses in value due to drought and improved water use measures have saved water required.
12. Crop water stress due to inadequate irrigation generally reduces crop yield and/or quality. Measured or estimated soil water content with depth and time are useful in scheduling irrigation timing and amount for best crop production and environmental protection. Irrigation scheduling approaches must be relatively simple and user-friendly to assure grower adoption on a large scale.
13. Preliminary results from a study using AgriMet water-balance scheduling and watermark soil water sensors indicate that both approaches are acceptable irrigation scheduling tools although field experience indicates that growers usually prefer a sensor-based approach over a water balance approach because of the extra inputs and analysis required for the water balance method. This is true even if the water balance method is computer or web-based. Level of user acceptance is still relatively low in medium to low-value crops grown in Idaho. However, adoption level will rise as water becomes more scarce or limited.
14. Sensor and data logger installation techniques have been developed for perennial crops like alfalfa to eliminate the need for growers to harvest without the need to remove or move the sensors, connecting wires or data logger for harvest. It is hoped that this modification or the wireless data logging system tested this year will encourage more growers to adopt this scheduling technology. Several growers in a related study have continued to use soil water sensors extensively after project completion to most effectively irrigate with a limited water supply.
15. A remote sensing research related to evapotranspiration has a great potential to benefit irrigators in Puerto Rico. Work this year was initiated to expand the evapotranspiration estimates to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Puerto Rico algorithm estimates the daily water balance, which is useful for water resource management.
16. Preliminary results in the development of Taro response to SDI and plant tolerance to fungus when grown in dry conditions (like Southern PR) are important factors that may contribute to establish the crop on a commercial scale on the coast to replace imports. Currently there is no taro in PR due to the effect of severe attack of fungus in traditional production areas (in wetland areas). With new technology (SDI) and changes in traditional management systems, adequate performance can be produced commercially.
17. Lubbock, TX - Subsurface drip irrigation, irrigation scheduling, and crop water allocation resources proved to be especially critical tools for drought mitigation during Texas&lsquo; record-breaking drought of 2011.
18. In Bushland, TX, results from SDI studies are being used to develop engineering guidelines for permanently installed subsurface drip irrigation systems in the Texas High Plains that specifically address the cracking, heavy clay loam soil, and to conduct economic analyses for major crops produced with spray, LEPA, and SDI in the region.
19. In Wyoming, irrigation scheduling studies are being conducted. Proper irrigation scheduling procedures are expected to generate a major impact on the irrigated agricultural production in the State. Wyoming&lsquo;s irrigation scheduling research includes corn, sunflower, and alfalfa. Related results from this research include crops responses to water stress.

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Report Information

Participants

Loring, Steve (Administrative Advisor) (sloring@nmsu.edu)  NMSU; Bralts, Vince (bralts@purdue.edu)  Purdue University; Prestwich, Clarence (Clarence.prestwich@por.usda.gov) - NRCS, WNSTC; O'Neill, Michael (moneill@nmsu.edu) - NMSU; Shukla, Manoj K (Chair) (shuklamk@nmsu.edu)  NMSU; Fares, Ali (afares@hawaii.edu)  University of Hawaii; Smeal, Dan (dsmeal@nmsu.edu), NMSU; Schwankl, Lawrence (schwankl@uckac.edu) - UC; Stanley, Craig (cdstan@ufl.edu)  UFL; Porter, Dana (dporter@tamu.edu)  Texas AgriLife Research; Shock, Clinton (Clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu)  Oregon State University; Nandwani, Dilip (Secretary) (dnandwa@uvi.edu)  University of The Virgin Islands; Lamm, Freddie (flamm@ksu.edu)  KSU; Garcia y Garcia, Axel (Vice Chair) (axel.garcia@uwyo.edu) - University of Wyoming; Neibling, Howard (hneiblin@uidaho.edu)  University of Idaho

Brief Summary of Minutes

November 1, 2012

The 2012 meeting was organized at Orlando, FL. Manoj Shukla, Chair, called the meeting to order at 8.05am and welcome the participants. Dr. Steve Loring, the administrative advisor, welcomed the attendees and mentioned about the new proposal (2014), and nomination for multistate excellence award. He spoke about reporting needs for the meeting as per the USDAs new tweaks. There were few questions on final report and on nomination. The annual reports should include leveraging activities, especially grants for collaborations among W-2128 participants. Include impact statements, photos, etc. to promote value of this project. Dr. Loring mentioned that USDA wants to know results of this interaction in quantifiable, measurable impacts and also have new reporting system. The current project will expire Sept. 30, 2014. He suggested begin planning on writing new proposal, develop objectives and finalize new proposal by next years meeting. The deadline for submission is January 2014.

Freddie suggested a logo for the project followed by discussion. He talked few ideas and group discussed on the logo design, color and made some suggestions. Group agreed nice to have a logo.

Craig Stanley talked about the field trip tomorrow to tropical foliage, Epcot center, Citrus growing areas and irrigation, lunch and registration fee ($75). Participants introduced themselves.

State/Regional Presentations

Larry Schwankl (UC) led a discussion of the microirrigation maintenance website. He requested more photos, and indicated he expects the website to be available after the first of the year.

Dr. Schwankl also discussed microirrigation of blackeye peas and SDU irrigation of blueberries and blackberries in California.

Clint Shock (OSU) discussed drip irrigation of sweetpotato. Most of the work presented earlier followed by Q&A on disease problems, sub surface drip, planting, water use etc. Discussion held about rodent controls. Netafim has a chemical to repel rodents. Rodents are huge problems in alfalfa seed production.

Clarence Prestwich presented the USDA-NRCS Microirrigation Design Tool. This tool is spreadsheet-based, and can be used for design or evaluation. He mentioned that 160 practices that are eligible for financing, 16% were in microirrigation (391, 900 acres) Major portion is in California, Texas, NM, Kansas, Oklahoma and all others in Cotton, and all crops. This is available at www.irrigationtoolbox.com/ia. Brief discussion led by Freddie, Larry and others on measurement on flow variation and measurement, emitter management (emitter spacing and selection) and lateral hydraulics.

Dan Smeal (NMSU) presented an update of his work on low pressure microirigation with harvested rainwater. Low pressure microirrigation could be useful for irrigating potential gardens by hand, so looking into drip irrigation to irrigate vegetable or landscape gardens from rainwater catchment. He talked about the problem, the head provided by the elevated water vessels is lower that the specific drip manufacturers, tried 20 different emitters or tested, elevated tanks, water application uniformity. Half of the 20 point source emitters evaluated exhibited WAUs>0.90 at both 1.7m and 17.6m of head under conditions of this study. Potential use of microirrigation in soil reclamation.

Manoj Shukla (NMSU) presented his work on partial root zone drying strategies in pecan irrigation. He also presented results on transpiration rates, soil temperature, root length, plant height. Discussion held on transpiration rates, shallow root depth and water save (30%) in chili pepper plant. Larry and Freddie commented about 100% and 70% water use. Report concluded no significant differences were noted in the RLD between PRD treatments and control.

Mick ONeal (NMSU) presented an update on his work in microirrigation of hybrid poplars done in Farmington in 2007. He discussed poplar trial using surface drip irrigation and reported problems with chlorosis and nitrogen availability. He talked about four water applications in poplar clones and presented data on BDH and height from 2007-2011, water use efficiency and Q&A follows on 100% ET.

Ali Fares (UH) presented his report on irrigation water requirements for some major crops in response to potential climate change scenarios. Predict water requirement in major crops in potential climate change. He also presented model IMANYSYS database for data presentation on crops, irrigation, soil, water loss etc. He also presented ArcMap. Scenarios were simulated using IManSys for 27 year after adjusting precipitation, soil evapotranspiration. Discussion held on water management in crops presented through the models. In summary, total 25 scenarios were generated based on IPCC AR4 projections under current, B1, A1B1 and crop model to estimate crop yield for irrigation scenarios analysis of optimal crop choice to adopt climate change.

November 2, 2012: Field trip

Trip guided by Craig Stanley, UFL. The whole day was dedicated to field trip. The morning trip included a visit to the Mercer Botanicals (9.15am). Wayne Mercer talked about the foliage industry in FL. Established in 1987, successfully running drip irrigation to ornamentals in greenhouses. He provided some details on sensors, prototypes. Craig and Axel asked questions about any problems/issues in irrigation. He answered growers create problems for themselves due to proper knowledge and expertise in pH, light, root problems, too much irrigation etc. Irrigation depends on pot sizes, tissue culture liners, seeds comes from Mexico, cuttings from Guatemala and Costa Rica. USDA regulations are strict and need import permit.

Next stop was Jain Irrigation Inc. at Haines City. Jain Irrigation is a manufacturer of drip irrigation products for the agricultural, turf, greenhouse, nursery, industrial and landscape markets and offering the widest selection of micro-irrigation products including emission devices, continuous flow path drip tape, discrete emitter drip tape, integral emitterline, fittings, filters, air vents, injectors, accessories and tubing. The facility in FL established in 1960s and current facility is 12 yr. old and manufactures main line and automated packaging of drip line.
Participants had lunch and then visited Water Conserv II district, the largest reuse project of its kind in the world, combining agricultural irrigation with aquifer recharge via rapid infiltration basins (RIBs). This is an example of engineering ingenuity, creativity, and state-of-the-art technology of cooperative water reuse which irrigates up to 2,737 acres of citrus annually. The primary focus is agricultural irrigation for City of Orlando and Orange County. The RIBs are used for recharge of Florida's primary drinking water source, the Floridan aquifer, with daily flows that are not needed for irrigation and excess flows during wet weather periods. Water Conserv II is also the first reuse project in Florida permitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to irrigate crops produced for human consumption with reclaimed water. The project's reclaimed water meets FDEP's public access reuse standards and is permitted for use on all public access sites including residences and golf courses, food crops, foliage and landscape nurseries, tree farms, pasture land, the production of soil cement, and can also be used for fire protection.

Last stop we made at Disneys EPCOT and toured aquaponics, hydroponics, aeroponics, IPM laboratory and greenhouses. Over 175 kinds of fruits and vegetables are grown in controlled environment and hydroponically such as banana, dragon fruit, miracle berry, melon, pumpkin etc. Some featuring a latticed weigh support above the plant, include eggplant, potato, and tomato. A tomato plant currently holds the world record in annual yield, producing 32,192 fruit from the same plant in a period of one year. Herbs and greens were grown in NFT (Nutrient Film Technique), where precise measurements of nutrients the plants need are recirculated in very shallow waters. Herbs can be seen grown vertically via a drip method. All produce are shipped directly to Disney EPCOT's restaurants. Epcot offers student internship opportunities every year in the area of entomology, biotechnology, aquaponics and greenhouse technology.

November 3, 2012

Freddie Lamm (KSU) presented results from his work in corn irrigation, matching SDI irrigation capacity with nitrogen applications. He discussed N application in corn yield in 2010 and 2012 growing seasons and concluded that Kernels/ear was considerably higher in the normal year than was previous year. Timing of N fertigation, conjunctive management of both irrigation and in season N fertigation are important for corn production with SDI.

Dana Porter (Texas A&M) discussed education/outreach efforts, programs and products for traditional and emerging agricultural irrigation audiences. She presented no significant differences in yield or lint value. Presented second study on `Subsurface drip irrigation pre-pant irrigation timing effects on germination and cotton yield (Halfway/Helms farm). Cotton response to irrigation level as affected by field topography using subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) Halfway/Helms Farm). Brief discussion by Larry and Clint on small amount of water. Another study she presented on Farm scale yield comparisons of subsurface drip irrigation.

Howard Neibling (Idaho) discussed comparisons of alternate furrow surface drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation of corn. He used time-lapse photography to document crop response.

Dilip Nandwani (UVI) discussed his work in microirrigation of vegetables. He presented cultivar evaluations in tomatoes, cucumbers, hot and sweet peppers using drip irrigation. Drip irrigation has been very beneficial for the farming community and in vegetable production in the US Virgin Islands.
Business Meeting

Manoj brought a motion for Minutes of 2011 report. Minutes approved unanimously.

Discussion on next steps for the regional project group held on next proposal. Suggestions for topics (subject matter) and comments included, project must be on microirrigation, Education/Technology Transfer, Microirrigation to mitigate effects of limited irrigation capacities, Economic analyses, Microirrigation of corn SDI with lagoon effluent, Microclimate effects of microirrigation, Small-scale irrigation (related to USAID RFP; applications in subsistence farming systems), SDI of poplars, Small scale irrigation is important globally, Irrigation X nutrient management, Integrating scheduling to optimize irrigation, Irrigation scheduling with sensor technologies, Microirrigation strategies to deal with nutrient management issues (dairies, etc.), Drip irrigation of vegetables  gravity-based, low-pressure, low-input, Scale X irrigation, Aquaponics  aquaculture, drip irrigation, Urban landscape irrigation (dealing with limited water), Emitter performance under low head, Irrigation scheduling with low flow rates, Low irrigation rates for native plant seed production, Native species establishment, Nitrogen/fertigation practices with SDI in sweetpotato, Root water uptake; salinity issues; pot and field studies, Why (why not) do producers adopt microirrigation?, SDI and precision farming, Optimizing nutrient management (applications in organic ag), Water use and water use efficiency with SDI; irrigation scheduling, BMPs  microirrigation as a nutrient management practice, Applications in High Tunnels, Salinity issues with microirrigation etc. Freddie Lamm will provide leadership in coordinating the proposal, with assistance from Objective leaders.

Election of officers held: Chair- Axel Garcia; Vice-Chair- Dilip Nandwani; Secretary- Ken Shackel.

Manoj opened the floor for discussion on the upcoming meeting location. There were few locations Wyoming, Nevada, Virgin Islands and Colorado suggested. Dilip, upcoming vice-chair, talked about the pros and cons of holding the 2013 meeting in the Virgin Islands, including the cost of airfare, and limitation for the technical/field trip. Denver, CO, was proposed and approved for 2013 meeting location, considering central place and convenient to the attendees.

The tentative date for the 2013 meeting was proposed November 19-21, 2013, in the Denver, CO, vicinity.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Compare irrigation scheduling technologies and develop grower-appropriate scheduling products.<br /> <br /> California: <br /> A commercial in-situ psychrometer for automated, in-situ measurement of plant stress (stem water potential, SWP) was evaluated in almond and grape under field conditions and corn under laboratory conditions. This technology is promising, but there have been occasions of both good and poor agreement between the psychrometer and the pressure chamber, and additional work will be needed to identify the sources of errors.<br /> <br /> Hawaii:<br /> Field experiments have been conducted at the Waimanalo Research Station, Oahu, Hawaii. We continued evaluating the performance of soil water content sensor and solution sampling suction cups for measuring soil water content and monitoring the soil solution within and below the rootzone, respectively. The objectives of this study were to study the combined effects of three irrigation levels (0.75 ET, 1.0 ET, and 1.25 ET), three organic amendments (OM) types (chicken, compost, and bone meal) and three levels of OM (low, medium, and high) on: i) plant water and nutrient uptake; ii) excess water drainage and nutrient losses below the rootzone; iii) carbon dioxide emission; and iv) soil organic matter content. Results show increase of water drainage and nutrient losses with irrigation level. Nutrient losses correlated with OA level.<br /> <br /> Iowa: <br /> In Iowa, an improved method for interpolating soil moisture data was also developed (but not yet fully tested or validated) to generate a high-resolution soil moisture map from low-resolution observed data from sources like in situ sensors or satellite imagery. Using sparse point-based spatial data, we were able to create a highly detailed map that captures more of the true spatial pattern of soil moisture than traditional spatial interpolation techniques such as inverse distance weighting. The improved approach uses characteristic similarity rather than spatial proximity to weight observed data in the interpolation. In this way, areas that have similar topography and soil characteristics to observed sampling locations are mapped similarly, regardless of how far apart they are in the field. <br /> <br /> New York: <br /> Calculation and Delivery of Improved Apple Irrigation Needs (NY-G)  We recently developed an apple-specific Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation to provide locally-validated estimates of water use for irrigation scheduling for the Northeast climate. The apple P-M model has been programmed into the daily calculations of the Northeast Climate Center at Cornell University to provide daily crop basal ET based on weather inputs from stations in apple-growing regions of NY. Commercial use has begun in 2012. Comparison tests are underway in commercial orchards between grower standard method (based primarily on observation and experience) and the new P-M output. <br /> <br /> Development of a microfludics-based microsensor for continuous monitoring of soil and plant water potential  To allow continuous monitoring of plant water stress, we have continued the development and testing of a microtensiometer (final size about 2x5 mm) that is basically the same principle as current soil tensiometers. It is based on microfluidics (liquid volume about 10 microliters) and nanofabrication of an exchange surface and a pressure transducer. It is designed to embed in the trunk of perennial plants to directly measure stem water potential and as a sensor in a soil tensiometer. The sensor has the primary advantages of very large range, easy continuous recording and low cost due to silicon wafer micromanufacturing (probably about $5 per sensor) to allow for many sensors, needed in variable soil conditions. Prototypes have been built and tested successfully to -35 bars in lab tests. Application-specific packaging (form, protection, power, data logging) is being developed. Thresholds for grapevine irrigation based on the relationships between vine stem water potentials and shoot growth and berry development in grapes have been developed. Shoot growth rate was found to be inhibited by about 70% before leaf photosynthesis was reduced, allowing for irrigation thresholds to regulate vine growth and function. Relationships between vine water relations and grape flavors are being investigated. <br /> <br /> Oregon: <br /> Due to commercial interest in the manufacturing sweet potato fries, sweet potatoes were grown with various drip irrigation SWT criteria (40, 60, 80, and 100 kPa) were for potato yield and grade. Sweet potato yield and grade data was highest at 40 kPa. Since yield and grade continued to increase to the wettest criteria, an irrigation criteria of 25 kPa was added in 2012.<br /> <br /> Corn lily (Veratrum californicum) was grown with automated drip irrigation at soil water tension (SWT) irrigation criteria of 5, 10, 20, and 30 with 4 replicates at each of two locations at 2,150 and 4,900 feet elevation in Ontario, OR and McCall, ID, respectively. Results show that irrigation at 5-10 kPa provides reasonable growth but water use efficiency at 5 kPa was very low.<br /> <br /> Irrigation criteria was being examined for seed production of 20 native perennial plant species that the US Forest Service and BLM have determined would be highly desirable for rangeland restoration. Each species was being grown in a semi-arid environment at Ontario, OR using subsurface drip irrigation in replicated plots with three irrigation treatments (0, 100, and 200 mm/yr total irrigation) repeated over years. Species requirements for optimal seed yield differed tremendously between species from 0 to 200 mm. None of the species needed more than 200 mm to optimize seed yield. In years of considerably above average rainfall (more than 300 mm) fewer species responded positively to irrigation.<br /> <br /> The interaction of onion population by irrigation system demonstrated that onion yield and grade varied with population, but did not vary in 2011 by irrigation system. <br /> <br /> The performance of soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling instruments were compared in a very sandy soil in McCall, ID. Sensor performance is being measured through wetting and drying cycles at different temperatures. Instruments being compared include tensiometers, granular matrix sensors (GMS), hybrid sensors, thermocouple psychrometer readings, and capacitance probes. <br /> <br /> Results of A-D above were communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written, and on line reports. <br /> <br /> Texas: <br /> Evapotranspiration-based irrigation scheduling tools have been developed through USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Program funded projects. The Texas High Plains Evapotranspiration Network team secured funding to extend information delivery and related educational programs through August 2014. These programs support ET-based irrigation scheduling and regional water planning efforts throughout the Texas High Plains (Panhandle, South Plains and Rolling Plains). <br /> <br /> USVI: <br /> In US Virgin Islands, work initiated on vegetable production using drip irrigation and fertigation. Tomatoes, cucumbers, hot and sweet peppers were grown using 8 or 10ml low flow drip tape. One crop of each vegetable was planted, four varieties of tomato, twenty varieties of hot and sweet peppers evaluated using drip irrigation. In cucumber one variety (Eureka) was evaluated in varying rates of irrigation on the yield and growth. Water needs by using drip irrigation and fertigation in vegetables continued. A poster was presented at the Caribbean Food Crop Society Annual meeting in Cancun, Mexico. <br /> <br /> Wyoming: <br /> Three alfalfa cultivars for hay production are being grown on a sub-surface drip irrigated field using four irrigation strategies: 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent of ET with four replicates. The experiment is conducted at the University of Wyoming Research & Extension Center in Powell, WY, which is located at an elevation of 4,370 ft. Irrigation amounts are estimated using the ETo x Kc approach. Soil water depletion is monitored with a neutron probe every 8 inches to a depth of 40 inches. Watermarks for irrigation scheduling were installed at depths of 12, 18, 24, and 36 inches. Preliminary results show that Watermarks at the depth of 18 inches provide good indication as potential tools for irrigation scheduling for conditions of limiting and non-limiting water supply. Further steps (2013 growing season) include to set up irrigation scheduling criteria based on different soil water tensions at the depth of 18 inches. Our results are being communicated to producers through field days, field day bulletins, and grower meetings.<br /> A corn experiment is being conducted on sub-surface and on-surface drip irrigated fields. Canopy temperature using infra-red thermometers is monitored at different irrigations strategies. Soil moisture depletion is monitored with a neutron probe to a depth of 50 inches. Our results show that canopy temperature is a promising tool for irrigation scheduling. Preliminary results were presented at the 2012 ASABE meeting and a technical paper was published.<br /> <br /> Objective 2: Develop design, management and maintenance recommendations<br /> <br /> California: <br /> A website is being developed to assist growers and professionals deal with maintenance of microirrigation systems. This web site is a joint effort of L. Schwankl of California, F. Lamm of Kansas, and D. Porter of Texas. Schwankl is taking the lead.<br /> <br /> The Maintenance of Microirrigation Systems website will be an immediate benefit to those using and involved with microirrigation systems. Microirrigation users will be able to use the website to predict clogging problems, evaluate their microirrigation systems for clogging, and find solutions to clogging problems.<br /> <br /> Maintenance of Microirrigation Systems website: http://ucanr.edu/sites/Microirrigation/. Currently web site is password protected while final changes are made to it.<br /> <br /> In addition to developing the microirrigation maintenance website, the PI made 10 presentations related to microirrigation, contacting approximately 450 growers and professionals, we given.<br /> <br /> Idaho: <br /> A subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system was installed in a center pivot corner in May, 2012 using support from a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant to determine the suitability of SDI for corn silage production under Idaho soil, climate, and harvest conditions. Three drip tape depths and 2 tape spacings were installed. First year drip-irrigated corn silage yield exceeded the farm center pivot average while eliminating surface runoff that was present under most of the farm pivots. System performance and crop yield and quality will be measured for at least 3 years and the system will serve as a demonstration site for this technology.<br /> <br /> Texas: <br /> A manual, Irrigation for Small Farms, and supporting presentations (curriculum package) were developed to provide irrigation educational support for small acreage landowners. These materials were developed as deliverables for a Texas Water Development Board Agricultural Water Conservation Program sponsored project, Youth Education on Rainwater Harvesting and Agricultural Irrigation Training for Small Acreage Land Owners. The manual and subsequent support fact sheets will be published with funding support from the USDA-ARS Ogallala Aquifer Program. The curriculum materials have been used to conduct three workshops, and portions have been used in various Extension educational meetings. <br /> <br /> Objective 3: Develop best management practices for application of agrochemicals<br /> <br /> California: <br /> A field study is conducted in an almond orchard at Paramount Farms, CA. The main objective of this project is to develop optimal irrigation and fertigation practices for micro-irrigation (drip and micro-sprinkler) systems for almond using HYDRUS, to improve water and nutrient use efficiencies, and to reduce leaching and gaseous losses of nitrates, using a wide range of possible management scenarios (water, fertigation, salinity). For that purpose, extensive field data are collected, such as soil hydraulic and textural properties with soil layering, monitoring of soil moisture and soil water potential, soil temperature and nitrate solution concentration for selected treatments, in addition to data already being collected as part of a larger nutrient management project. <br /> <br /> A conceptual modeling framework was development to assist in the design and management of subsurface drip irrigation systems for alfalfa that maximize yield, while minimizing deep percolation water losses to groundwater. Our approach combines numerical modeling using HYDRUS-2D with a nonlinear optimization technique. The HYDRUS-2D model was used to simulate spatial and temporal distributions of soil moisture content, root water uptake, and deep drainage in response to drip-line installation depth and distance, emitter discharge, irrigation duration and frequency, while the optimization algorithm explores tradeoffs between water application, irrigation system parameters, and crop transpiration, to evaluate best management practices for subsurface drip irrigation systems in alfalfa. <br /> <br /> A soil moisture sensor installation device was designed, developed and tested, allowing sensor installation at depths below 1 m, using a hand-operated horizontal jack, in conjunction with a miniature camera to monitor installation progress. The sensor installer was part of Decagons booth during the 2012 AGU meeting in San Francisco, and is considered for commercialization.<br /> <br /> The University of California Center for Water Resources appointed a workgroup (J. Letey, UC Riverside, Chair) to review the development of steady-state analyses and transient-state models, and to determine whether the current recommended guidelines for leaching requirement based on steady-state analyses need to be revised. The workgroup concluded that the present guidelines overestimate the leaching requirement and the negative consequences of irrigating with saline waters, especially at low leaching fractions. <br /> <br /> New Mexico: <br /> Comparative effects of the compensated (under water stress conditions using drip-irrigated partial root zone drying (PRD) techniques) and non-compensated (no water stress) root water uptake pattern were evaluated for chile plants (NuMex Joe Parker; Capsicum annuum). Results suggest that chile plants under these two drip-irrigated PRD treatments could compensate for water stress in one part of the vertical or lateral root zone profile by taking up water from less water¬stressed parts of the vertical or lateral root zone regions, without affecting transpiration or photosynthetic rates to meet peak water demand. No significant differences were noted in the root length distributions and plant heights between PRD treatments and control. Either of the two drip-irrigated PRD techniques have a great potential to be adopted as water saving practices in chile production especially for environments with limited water.<br /> <br /> Texas: <br /> Research-based recommendations have been developed for fertility management of subsurface drip irrigated cotton in the Texas Southern High Plains. These recommendations have been extrapolated to address inquiries regarding fertigation/chemigation through other microirrigation systems and crops. Additional information will be assembled to develop and expand recommendations for additional crops and conditions. <br /> <br /> Objective 4: Evaluate use of non-potable water through microirrigation<br /> <br /> New Mexico: <br /> Pecan roots were planted in pots during 2008-2010 and were drip irrigated with solutions of EC of 1.5, 3, 5.5, and 7.5 dS/m. The project aimed to evaluate the effects of different salinity levels on physiological properties of Pecan roots including bud break, canopy development, nitrogen and chloride uptake and salt tolerance. A lab test on scorched leaves did not detect the presence of bacteria (Xylella fastidiosa) responsible for Pecan Bacterial leaf spot, therefore, it was confirmed that the leaf scorching was only due to salt stress imposed on plants. No leaves were observed in the second year plants irrigated with water of salinity >5 dS m-1. The plants became stunted with decreasing stem diameter and nitrogen and chloride uptake increased with increasing salinity of irrigation water.

Publications

Abbas, F., A. Fares, H. Valenzuela, and S. Fares. 2011. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from an Organically Amended Tropical Soil. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture: 36, 3-17.<br /> <br /> Abritta, M and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2012. Crop water stress index and non-stressed baseline of corn grown in the state of Wyoming, US. ASABE paper # 12-1337804.<br /> <br /> Beggs, R.A., D.J. Hills, G. Tchobanoglous, and J.W. Hopmans. 2011. Fate of nitrogen for subsurface drip irrigation of effluent from small wastewater systems. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 126:19-28. doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2011.05.007 <br /> <br /> Centinari, M., S, Poni, D.S. Intrigliolo, D. Dragoni and A.N. Lakso. 2011. Cover crop evapotranspiration in a northeastern United States Concord (Vitis labruscana) vineyard. Austral. J. Grape Wine Res. 18:7379, 2012.<br /> <br /> Chighladze, G., A. Kaleita, S. Logsdon, and S. Birrell. 2012. Estimating soil solution nitrate concentration from dielectric spectra using partial least squares analysis. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 76(5): 1536-1547.<br /> <br /> Deb, S. K., M. K. Shukla, and J. G. Mexal. 2012. Estimating midday leaf and stem water potentials of mature pecan trees from soil water content and climatic parameters. Hort. Sci. 47(7):907916.<br /> <br /> Deb S.K., M.K. Shukla and J. Mexal. 2012. Evaluation of compensated root water uptake pattern of greenhouse drip irrigated chile. 2012 Irrigation Show & Education Conference Nov. 2-6, Orlando, Florida.<br /> <br /> Doniger, A. and C.C. Shock. 2012. Microclimatic characteristics of the natural environment supporting corn lily (Veratrum calfornicum). p 191-197 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Doniger, A., C.C. Shock, E.B.G. Feibert, C. Parris, and L.D. Saunders. 2012. Veratrum irrigation. p 198-210 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Feibert, E.B.G., and C.C. Shock. 2012. Establishing plant stands. Native Plant Seed Production Field Day. OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 16 May 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Felix, J., C.C. Shock, J. Ishida, and E.B.G. Feibert. 2012. Investigate sweet potato cultivars and irrigation criteria for the Treasure Valley. p 119-125 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Foley, K.M. and C.C. Shock. 2012. Benefits of strip tillage to increase farming efficiency and protect water quality. p 236-244 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Foley, K.M., C.C. Shock, O.S. Norberg, and T.K. Welch. 2012. Making strip tillage work for you: a growers guide, Oregon State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 140.<br /> <br /> Foley, K.M., A.R. Doniger, C.C. Shock, D.A. Horneck, and T. Welch. 2012. Nitrate pollution in groundwater, Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 137.<br /> <br /> Gowda, Prasanna, Jerry Ennis, Terry Howell, Thomas Marek, Dana Porter. 2012. The ASCE Standardized ET Equation Based Bushland Reference ET Calculator. 2012 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress. American Society of Civil Engineers Environmental and Water Resources Institute, Albuquerque, NM. May 20-24, 2012. <br /> <br /> Gowda, Prasanna, Jerry Ennis, Thomas Marek, Dana Porter and Terry Howell. 2012. The Bushland Reference ET Calculator. Software demonstration (invited) at the 2012 High Plains Dairy Conference, Amarillo, TX. 03/07/12.<br /> <br /> Harden, J.L., K.M. Foley, C.C. Shock, and T.K. Welch. 2012. Eliminating runoff water from your farm, Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 142. 5 p. <br /> <br /> Hines, S and H. Neibling. 2012. Center Pivot Irrigation for Corn: Water Management and System Design Considerations in Southern Idaho. Current Information Series Publication. University of Idaho Extension. <br /> <br /> Hopmans, J.W. M. Kandalous. 2012. Optimizaton of water and nitrate use efficiencies for almonds under micro irrigation. Annual Report. Almond Board. Project 11-PREC4-Hopmans<br /> <br /> Kandalous M.M., T. Kamai, J.A. Vrugt, J. Simunek, B.R. Hanson, and J.W. Hopmans. 2012. Evaluation of subsurface drip irrigation design and management parameters for alfalfa. Agric. Water Management. Doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2012.02.009<br /> <br /> <br /> Letey, J., G. J Hoffman; J. W Hopmans; S. R Grattan; D. Suarez; D. L Corwin; J. D Oster; L. Wu; and C. Amrhein. 2011. Evaluation of Soil Salinity Leaching Requirement Guidelines. Agricultural Water Management. Vol 98 (4): 502-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.08.009 <br /> <br /> Parris, C.A., A.R. Doniger, and C.C. Shock. 2012. A native plant for anti-cancer pharmaceuticals. Native Plant Seed Production Field Day. OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 16 May 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2011. Irrigation Management for Texas South Plains. Gaines County Water Meeting. Seminole, TX. 12/06/11. <br /> <br /> Porter, Dana O. 2011. Irrigation Management for Texas South Plains. Hale County Ag Day. Plainview, TX. 12/07/11.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., Prasanna Gowda, Thomas Marek, Terry Howell, Jerry Moorhead, and Suat Irmak. 2012. Sensitivity of Grass- and Alfalfa-Reference Evapotranspiration to Weather Station Sensor Accuracy. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 28(4):543-549.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Efficient Irrigation for High Plains Dairies. (Invited Paper), Proceedings of the 2012 High Plains Dairy Conference. Amarillo, TX. 03/08/12. Available at: http://www.highplainsdairy.org/2012/proceedings12.html. Accessed 10 December 2012.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Irrigation Management for Texas South Plains.Caprock Cotton Conference. Muncy, TX. 01/24/12.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Irrigation Management for Texas South Plains. Llano Estacado Cotton Conference. Muleshoe, TX. 01/26/12.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Managing Water in 2012. West Plains Cotton Conference. Levelland, TX. 03/27/12.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Optimizing Water Use Efficiency. Lubbock County Producers Update. Lubbock, TX. 04/03/12.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Maximizing Water from the Pump to the Plant. Swisher County Spring Ag Conference. Tulia, TX. 04/04/12.<br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Irrigation Workshop. Dairy Outreach Program Area Workshop Series. Stephenville, TX. 05/31/12. <br /> <br /> Porter, D., O. 2012. Small Acreage Landowner Irrigation Workshop. Stephenville, TX. 06/01/12. <br /> <br /> Sampangi, R., K. Mohan,and C.C. Shock. 2012. Abiotic disorders of native plants. Annual meeting of the Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project. Salt Lake City, Utah, 22 February. <br /> <br /> Shackel K, J. Edstrom, A. Fulton, Br. Lampinen, L. Schwankl, A. Olivos, W. Stewart, S. Cutter, S. Metcalf, H. Munoz, G. Spinelli. 2012. Drought Survival Strategies for Established Almond Orchards on Shallow Soil. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shackel K., B. Sanden, B. Lampinen, S. Metcalf, G. Spinelli, P. Brown, S. SaaSilva, S. Muhammad, W. Stewart, J. Edstrom, R. Duncan, R. Rosecrance, B. Beede, F. Niederholzer, A. Olivos. 2012. Fertigation: Interaction of Water Management and Nutrient Management in Almond. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shackel K., D. Doll, C. Reisser, E. Russell. 2012. Plant-Based Measures of Water Stress for Irrigation Management in Multiple Almond Varieties. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Sanden B., A. Fulton, D. Doll, K. Shackel. 2012. Defining a Central Valley Almond ET/Yield Production Function for Almonds. Annual Research Conference of the Almond Board of California.<br /> <br /> Shackel KA, Prichard TL, Schwankl LJ, 2012. Irrigation scheduling and tree stress. In: Prune production manual, University of California, ANR publication #3507.<br /> <br /> Sharma, P., M. K. Shukla, T. W. Sammis, R.L. Steiner and J. G. Mexal. 2012. Nitrate-Nitrogen Leaching from three Specialty Crops of New Mexico under Furrow Irrigation System. Ag Water Management. 109:71-80.<br /> <br /> Sharma, P., M. K. Shukla, T. W. Sammis and *P. Adhikari. 2012. Nitrate-Nitrogen Leaching from Onion Bed under Furrow and Drip Irrigation Systems. Journal of Applied and Environmental Soil Science, Vol. 2012, doi:10.1155/2012/650206. <br /> <br /> Shock, M.P., C.C. Shock, E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Parris, L.D. Saunders, R.K. Sampangi, N.L. Shaw, and T.K. Welch. 2012. Fernleaf biscuitroot, Lomatium dissectum (LODI), Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 138. 6 p.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders. 2012. Onion bulb size response to plant population for four varieties under three irrigation systems. Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Miami, FL, August.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, N. Shaw, and R. Sampangi. 2012. Irrigation requirements for intermountain west native plant seed production. Annual meeting of the Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project. Salt Lake City, Utah, 22 February.<br /> <br /> Shock, M.P., C.C. Shock, E.B.G. Feibert, N.L. Shaw, L.D. Saunders, and R.K. Sampangi. 2012. Cultivation and irrigation of fernleaf biscuitroot (Lomatium dissectum) for Seed Production. HortScience 47(10):1525-1528.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., and C.B. Shock. 2012. Research, extension, and good farming practices improve water quality and productivity. Journal of Integrative Agriculture 11(1):14-30.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Cooperative progress on cleaning up groundwater through BMPs. Malheur Country Historical Society, Ontario, OR, 9 February. <br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. OSUs program in Malheur County. Ontario Kiwanis, Ontario, OR, 11 April. Also presented to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Ontario, OR, 30 April.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. and K.A. Foley. 2012. Strip till  for soil protection and profitability. 3rd Annual Sustainable Agriculture Symposium. 16 February 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Progress on cleaning up groundwater through BMPs. Idaho/Malheur County, Oregon Onion Growers 52nd Annual Meeting. 07 February 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Technology for yourth. Summer Farm Festival, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 11 July 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Onion production tour. Summer Farm Festival, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 11 July 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Wildflower and native plant seed production. Summer Farm Festival, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 11 July 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Water quality and farm practices. Summer Farm Festival, OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 11 July 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2012. Native plant irrigation for seed production. Native Plant Seed Production Field Day. OSU Malheur Experiment Station. 16 May 2012. Ontario, OR.<br /> <br /> In Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2010, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2012. Response of four onion varieties to plant population and irrigation system. p 40-65 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and M. Keller. 2012. Evaluation of AgZyme® in onion production. p 66-67 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, N. Shaw and R.S. Sampangi. 2012. Irrigation reqirements for native wildflower seed production. p 139-160 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, N. Shaw and R.S. Sampangi. 2012. Irrigation reqirements for novel native wildflower seed production. p 161-170 In Shock C.C. (Ed.) Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Experiment Station Annual Report 2011, Department of Crop and Soil Science Ext/CrS 141.<br /> <br /> Van Arkel, Z. and A. Kaleita. 2012. Interpolating soil moisture patterns with inverse distance weighting based on physical characteristics. Poster presented at the 2012 Annual International Meeting of the ASABE, Dallas, TX. <br /> <br /> Wilbourn, Brant Alan. 2012. Economic Analysis of Alternative Irrigation Technologies: Lower Rio Grande Valley. Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Economics. Texas A&M University. December 2012. (Committee Co-Chairs: M. Edward Rister and Ronald D. Lacewell; Members: James R. Gilley and John Robinson.)<br /> <br /> Patent: Tuli, A., J.W. Hopmans, T. Kamai, and B.D. Shaw. 2011. In-situ soil nitrate ion concentration sensor. US Patent No. 7,927,883 B2.

Impact Statements

1. In California, It is tentatively concluded that (a) micro-irrigation leaching rates are largely controlled by irrigation type and soil heterogeneity (texture, layering), with irrigation frequency and applied water being the same, and (b) tensiometers are the critical sensors in monitoring leaching rates. Regarding the latter, a new tensiometer design is being developed for real-time 24/7 soil water potential monitoring at depths below the rooting zone.
2. As part of an ongoing Almond Board of California irrigation sustainability project, a survey of 198 almond growers representing 36,000 acres, indicates that 38% of almond growers now use the pressure chamber and midday stem water potential (SWP) to manage irrigation, comparable to the 43% of growers using real-time ET. This represents a major impact on industry practice. There has also been a markedly increasing rate of use of the term stem water potential in the scientific literature, reaching a cumulative value of about 170 in 2010. This also represents a major shift in academic interest in this method.
3. In Idaho, crop yields were 33 T/ac for the 30-inch tape spacing and 27 T/ac for the 44 inch spacing. Farm-average yield this year was about 32 T/ac. Recent average yield for the farm is about 28 T/ac under center pivot irrigation. The yield with SDI was more remarkable than the raw numbers suggest because the SDI area was planted about 3 weeks later than the other fields of corn. The adjacent pivot corn was about 6 inches tall at the time of planting on the SDI area. Initial measurements indicated some reduction in tape flow on drip lines installed at the 6 inch depth, but the more relevant indicator is flow next spring after a winter of soil free/thaw conditions. Damage from rodents was present but appears to be at a manageable level.
4. If SDI can be shown to be a cost-effective irrigation system for corn production on center pivot corners, it will provide additional conveniently-located acres to help meet demand for corn silage while minimizing labor, energy use, and water use on the SDI area. It will also protect surface and ground water as well or better than any other irrigation system.
5. In Iowa, using only several sensors in judiciously selected locations, we can provide more detailed maps of soil moisture content. While we have not tested the impacts of improved data mapping on irrigation, we believe that our approach will improve irrigation efficiency through two means: enabling precision irrigation while minimizing the number of sensors necessary, and by providing an improved estimate of field average for uniform irrigation applications.
6. In New Mexico, the experimental results showed that partial rootzone drying technique has the potential to be adopted as water saving technique in chile production system in NM. The bud break in Pecan roots, development and survival of young Pecan trees is sensitive to the soil salinity. Funding sources: USDA specialty crop initiative, VPR NMSU GREG grant, USDA Hatch grant.
7. In New York, direct measurements of apple and grape basal ET and magnitude of water stress in the cool humid climate of NY has provided NY growers with general guidelines for irrigation. The new model ET model for apples has been incorporated into an automated online system for NY growers to optimize irrigation.
8. In Oregon, irrigation scheduling by soil water tension allows growers to use water more precisely. Calibration of soil moisture instruments promotes improved irrigation scheduling with greater precision and confidence. Crop yields have increased and water is being conserved. Groundwater nitrate contamination has decreased.
9. Better use of irrigation systems and irrigation criteria for onions are increasing onion yields and reducing environmental consequences of onion irrigation. Drip irrigation is used locally on 42 percent of the acres and accounts for approximately 50 percent of local production. Combining drip irrigation with careful irrigation scheduling reduces the negative environmental consequences of onion production: water and nutrient applications are very close to the actual needs of onion and nitrate does not leach to groundwater. Groundwater water quality is improving in Oregon over the entire onion production region of the Treasure Valley.
10. In Texas, participants in irrigation workshops for dairy producers and small acreage landowners indicated very favorable response to the educational quality and content of the events. Overall increases in knowledge (by category/topic) were indicated in survey responder self-assessment indicators. Surveys also indicated high percentages of intent to adopt efficient irrigation technologies and best management practices addressed in the curriculum and workshop events.
11. In USVI, drip irrigation has been very beneficial for the farming community and our variety trials of vegetables. The use of drip irrigation is a great asset when it comes time for the application of fertilizers.
12. In Wyoming, irrigation scheduling allows for a more efficient use of water. Irrigation scheduling based on soil water tension seems to be a viable strategy for alfalfa producers to use water more precisely.
13. With advances on the development of infrared thermometers, canopy temperature is becoming a promising tool for irrigation scheduling. The technology has potential to be used in near-real time; this prospect is encouraging but further research is still needed.
14. In Hawaii, organic amendments supplied the sweet corn crop with its nutrient needs; in addition, they increased the organic matter levels in soils. Adequate irrigation water application based on soil water content monitoring optimized plant water use and decrease water drainage and nutrient losses below the rootzone.

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Report Information

Participants

Lakso, Alan (anl2@cornell.edu) - Cornell University; Morgan, Kelly (corserv@ufl.edu) - University of Florida; Stanley, Craig (cdstan@ufl.edu) - University of Florida; Corcos, Claude (calude.corocos@toro.com) - Toro Mircro-Irrigation; Shukla, Manoj (shuklamk@nmsu.edu) - New Mexico State University; De Leon, Bobby (bdeleon@jainsusa.com) - Jain; Shock, Clinton (clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu) - Oregon State University; Bartolo, Mike (avrc@coop.ext.colostate.edu) - Colorado State University; Trout, Tom - ARS Water Management Research Unit, Fort Collins; Neibling, Howard (hneiblin@uidaho.edu) - University of Idaho; Loring, Steve (sloring@nmsu.edu) - Administrative Adviser; Maloney, Jennifer (maloneyjenniferc@johndeere.com) - John Deere Water; Roman-Paoli, Elvin (epaoli@caribe.net) - University of Puerto Rico; Dowgert, Michael - Netafim; Gips, Ami - Netafim; Lamm, Freddie (flamm@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University; Garcia y Garcia, Axel (axel.garcia@uwyo.edu) - University of Wyoming; Nandwani, Dilip (dnandwa@uvi.edu) - University of the Virgin Islands; Shackel, Kenneth (kashackel@ucdavis.edu) - University of California, Davis; Fares, Ali (alfares@pvamu.edu) - Prairie View A&M University; Robinson, T.; Porter, Dana (dporter@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University

Brief Summary of Minutes

See attached meeting minutes.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Compare irrigation scheduling technologies and develop grower-appropriate scheduling products <br /> <br /> The apple-specific Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation for water use for irrigation scheduling in the Northeast has been programmed into the daily calculations of the Northeast Climate Center at Cornell University (NY). It provides daily crop basal ET based on weather inputs from stations in apple-growing regions of NY and calculates water balance. Since it has been available online, many growers in NY have indicated interest, but the season in 2013 was particularly wet with consistent rains so few growers needed to irrigate.<br /> <br /> Three alfalfa cultivars for hay production were grown on a sub-surface drip irrigated field using four irrigation strategies: 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent of ET with four replicates (WY). The experiment is conducted at the University of Wyoming Research & Extension Center in Powell, WY. Watermarks were installed at depths of 12, 18, 24, and 36 inches. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of limited irrigation on dry-matter yield, water-use efficiency, and forage quality of alfalfa grown on a sub-surface drip irrigation system. The Watermarks at the depth of 18 were good indicator of irrigation water needs. No significant difference between varieties. Irrigation amount had no significant effect on WUE or forage quality, which showed very small decreases across irrigation treatments. This may evidence that even in times of water stress, good quality alfalfa can be produced when proper irrigation scheduling practices are followed that match water needs of the crop. A corn experiment was planted on a sub-surface drip irrigated field. The crop was submitted to three irrigation regimes, including full irrigated and 70 and 50 percent of full irrigated. Canopy temperature using infra-red thermometers (IRT)was monitored at each irrigations treatment. Our results show that IRTs were adequate tools to on the determination of water stress. A dynamic crop simulation model was used to mimic the experimental results. The crop model was not as effective as the IRTs to determine the onset of water stress.<br /> <br /> A number of studies were performed in OR. A. Due to commercial interest in the manufacturing sweet potato fries, sweet potatoes were grown with various drip irrigation SWT criteria (25, 40, 60, and 80 kPa) were for potato yield and grade. Sweet potato yield and grade data was highest at 25 kPa for Covington and Beauregard and ay 40 kPa for and Evangeline. B. Irrigation criteria continued to be examined for seed production of 20 native perennial plant species that the US Forest Service and BLM have determined would be highly desirable for rangeland restoration. Each species was being grown in a semi-arid environment at Ontario, OR using subsurface drip irrigation in replicated plots with three irrigation treatments (0, 100, and 200 mm/yr total irrigation) repeated over years. Species requirements for optimal seed yield differed tremendously between species from 0 to 200 mm. None of the species needed more than 200 mm to optimize seed yield. In years of considerably above average rainfall (more than 300 mm) fewer species responded positively to irrigation. C. Onion response to drip-irrigation scheduling and criteria was examined. Onions are in storage to evaluate the irrigation treatments this winter. D.Optimize fertigation strategies for drip-irrigated onion. Onions are in storage to evaluate the fertigation treatments. E.Research was initiated on the irrigation criteria of annual native plants for seed production. F. Results of A-E above were communicated to growers by means of field days, workshops, grower meetings, written, and "on line" reports.<br /> <br /> Results from a three year study of subsurface drip irrigated alfalfa indicated that the nutritional value of the alfalfa was affected by distance from the dripline and the irrigation regime (KS).<br /> Nutritional value was slightly increased at further distances from the 1.5-m spaced driplines and was slightly increased by reducing irrigation levels designed to replace 70 to 85% of the reference ET. A journal article concerning this research was published in Forage and Grazinglands. <br /> <br /> A low pressure irrigation system was installed at the Agricultural Experiment Station to determine the suitability for irrigation to vegetable crops (VI). The system includes treadle pump, a water tank (250 gal.) at the height of 6 and drip lines. An observation trial on leafy greens conducted. Lettuce, kale and coriander were grown successfully. System will serve as a demonstration site for this technology in the U.S. Virgin islands. Second trial on watermelon was conducted using drip irrigation. Data on the yield and growth recorded. Variety 'Jubilee' was grown in a conventional management system in replicated design with four replications. Fertigation and chemigation applied to the fields when needed and weed control was done mechanically or with herbicide applications. <br /> <br /> A 5 year water production function (WPF) trial for commercial almonds was begun in a total of 3 grower cooperator fields located in the north, central and south portion of Californias central valley (CA). In each location, irrigation levels ranging from 70% to 110% ETc are being applied, and both plant- and soil-based monitoring performed on a weekly basis. In this first year of treatment application, the 70% ET treatment reduced kernel size in all locations (from 8 -13%), but only the Kern County site exhibited a clear and progressive yield reduction (10%) from the highest to the lowest ET treatment. More severe carry-over effects are expected in subsequent years.<br /> <br /> Objective 2: Develop design, management and maintenance recommendations <br /> A subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system was installed in a center pivot corner in May, 2012 using support from a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant to determine the suitability of SDI for corn silage production under Idaho soil, climate, and harvest conditions (ID). Three drip tape depths and 2 tape spacings were installed. In 2013 corn silage was planted about 2 weeks later than the adjacent center pivot area, with irrigation on both areas managed by the farmer. At harvest, corn ear weight (highly correlated with total crop tonnage and feed value) was measured from all 18 plots. System performance and crop yield and quality will be measured for at least 3 years and the system will serve as a demonstration site for this technology.<br /> <br /> An oral presentation with written paper was made to the annual international meeting of the ASABE concerning sediment transfer within driplines (KS). The results suggest that ASABE recommended minimum flushing velocity of 0.3 m/s is adequate for most microirrigation systems operating under typical conditions. This paper was extended and published in the Transactions of the ASABE. A one-hour webinar was presented on the Grange Network discussing the challenges and opportunities for SDI in row crop production. This webinar had both national and international participants and is archived for future viewings. An extensive portion of the seminar was dedicated to examining the minimum design requirements for successful SDI. An oral powerpoint presentations was made at the Governors Water Conference entitled SDI for Crop Production in the Great Plains - Approaching the 25th Anniversary of K-States Research and Extension Efforts which outlined progress made with developing this technology for the Great Plains. An oral presentation entitled SDI, the basics of successful systems was made to the North Carolina Irrigation Society. Joint technology transfer efforts concerning SDI involving Kansas State University, Texas AgriLife and USDA-ARS were continued in 2013. These efforts included presentations at local, regional and national meetings. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 3: Develop best management practices for application of agrochemicals <br /> <br /> Research continued on compensated root water uptake using partial rootzone drying (PRD) techniques (NM). The experiments were conducted using chile plants (NuMex Joe Parker; Capsicum annuum). Results supported previous observations that chile plants were able to take up more water from less water stressed part of the soil profile while maintaining the transpiration rate at the same rate as control treatment. No significant differences were noted in the plant heights between treatments. Water balance analysis showed that PRD techniques have a potential to be adopted as water saving practices in chile production especially for environments with limited water.<br /> <br /> Two separate oral presentations were made to the annual international meeting of the ASABE concerning nitrogen fertigation for subsurface drip irrigated corn production (KS). The results suggest that kernel set can be enhanced by timely nitrogen Fertigation when irrigation is adequate or greater.<br /> <br /> Objective 4: Evaluate use of non-potable water through microirrigation <br /> <br /> Salinity responses and salinity-related suppression of budbreak of drip irrigated pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] seedlings under different irrigation water salinity levels were investigated in the pot-in-pot system (NM). No pecan seedlings under the irrigation treatment levels of 5.5 and 7.5 dS/m survived to the end of the 2-year growing period. Thus, threshold EC1:1 was somewhere between 0.89 and 2.71 dS/m beyond which plant injury increases with increasing EC threatening the survival of pecan seedlings. Paper was submitted to HortSci and is accepted for publication.<br /> <br /> An oral presentation entitled Using Livestock Wastewater with Subsurface Drip Irrigation was made to the North Carolina Irrigation Society (KS).

Publications

Abritta, M.A., Soler, C.T.M., Green, A., and Garcia y Garcia, A. 2013. Relationship between measured canopy temperature and simulated drought stress. 42nd Biological Systems Simulation Conference. April 23-25, 2013. State College, PA.<br /> <br /> Carter, C. A. Garcia y Garcia, A. Islam, and K. Hansen. 2013. Effect of Deficit Irrigation on Water Use and Water Use Efficiency of Alfalfa. ASABE paper # 131603513. Kansas City, MO<br /> <br /> Carter, C., A. Islam, K. Hansen, and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2013. Effects of Limiting Water on the Yield, Water Productivity, and Forage Quality of Alfalfa. In: 2013 Field Days Bulletin, UW Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming.<br /> Available online at: www.uwyo.edu/uwexpstn/_files/docs/2013-field-days-bulletin.pdf <br /> <br /> Deb S.K, P. Sharma, M.K. Shukla and T. W. Sammis. 2013. Drip-irrigated pecan seedling response to irrigation water salinity. Hort. Science (In Press).<br /> <br /> Deb S.K., M.K. Shukla Uchanski, M.E., and Bosland, P.W. 2012. Evaluation of compensated root water uptake pattern of greenhouse drip irrigated chile. 2012 Irrigation Show & Education Conference, Agriculture Track-1, Nov. 2-6, Orlando, Florida.<br /> <br /> Doniger, A.R. 2012. Establishing irrigation criteria for the cultivation of Veratrum californium. MS thesis in Water Resource Science, oregon State University, 16 November. <br /> <br /> Garcia y Garcia, A.C. Carter, and A. Islam. 2013. Automated Monitoring of Soil Moisture on Irrigated Alfalfa. In: 2013 Field Days Bulletin, UW Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming.<br /> Available online at: www.uwyo.edu/uwexpstn/_files/docs/2013-field-days-bulletin.pdf <br /> <br /> Garcia y Garcia, A. and Mesbah, A. 2013. Irrigation Water Management. In: High Tunnel Manual (Panter et al., eds.). College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming Extension.<br /> <br /> Harmoney, K. R. F. R. Lamm, A. A. Aboukheira, and S. K. Johnson. 2012. Reducing water inputs with subsurface drip irrigation may improve alfalfa nutritive value. Online. Forage and Grazinglands doi:10.1094/FG-2013-117-01-RS. 8 pp.<br /> <br /> Hines, S and H. Neibling. 2013. Center Pivot Irrigation for Corn: Water Management and System Design Considerations in Southern Idaho. Bulletin 881. University of Idaho Extension. 10pp.<br /> <br /> Irmak, S., L.O. Odhiambo, J.E. Specht, and K. Djaman. 2013. Hourly and daily single and basal evapotranspiration crop coefficients as a function of growing degree days, days after emergence, leaf area index, fractional green canopy cover, and plant phenology for soybean. Transactions of the ASABE 56(5):1785-1803.<br /> <br /> Kong M, Lampinen B, Shackel K, Crisosto CH. 2013. Fruit skin side cracking and ostiole-end splitting shorten postharvest life in fresh figs (Ficus carica L.), but are reduced by deficit irrigation. Postharvest Biology and Technology 85: 154-161.<br /> <br /> Lamb, M., Sorensen, R.B., Nuti, R.C., Butts, C.L., Faircloth, W.H., Eigenberg, D., and Rowland, D.L. 2011. Agronomic and Economic Effect of Irrigation Rate in Corn Produced in Georgia. Online. Crop Management. doi:10.1094/CM-2011-00000-01-RS<br /> <br /> Mutiibwa, D., and S. Irmak. 2013. Transferability of Jarvis-type models developed/re-parameterized for specific crops to estimate stomatal resistance for other crops: Analyses on model calibration, validation, performance, sensitivity, and elasticity. Transactions of the ASABE 56(2):409-422.<br /> <br /> Nandwani D. 2012. Growth and yield response of four tomato cultivars in the US Virgin Islands. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico (comm.)<br /> <br /> Paoli, ER. 2013. Respuesta de lima Tahití a varios métodos de fertilización. 58th PCCMCA Annual Meeting. April 22-26, 2013. La Ceiba, Honduras. <br /> <br /> Puig-Bargués, J. and F. R. Lamm. 2013. Effect of flushing velocity and flushing duration on sediment transport in microirrigation driplines. Trans. ASABE 56(5):1821-1828.<br /> <br /> Sharma H., *Deb S.K., M.K. Shukla, P Bosland, B. Stringam and M. Uchanski. 2013. Chile root water uptake under partial root drying: a greenhouse drip irrigated study. 2013 Irrigation Show & Education Conference, Nov. 4-8, Austin, TX.<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., F.X. Wang, R.J. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, A.B. Pereira, and L.B. Jensen. 2013. Irrigation monitoring using soil water tension. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service. EM 8900 10p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/37569/em8900.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. T. Welch, F.X. Wang R. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, y A.B. Pereira. 2013. El control del riego mediante la tensión matricial del suelo. Tecnicas para la agricultura sostenible, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. EM 8900-S-E. 10p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/37648/em8900-s.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C. 2013. Drip Irrigation: An Introduction. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. EM 8782-E 8p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/37461/em8782.pdf<br /> <br /> C.C. Shock y T. Welch. 2013. El riego por goteo: Una introducción. Tecnicas para la agricultura sostenible, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. EM 8782-S 9p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/37462/em8782-S.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., F.X. Wang, R.J. Flock, E.P. Eldredge, and A.B. Pereira. 2013 Successful potato irrigation scheduling. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. EM 8911-E. 8p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/43731/em8911.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., F.X. Wang, R.J. Flock, E.P. Eldredge, and A.B. Pereira. 2013. Drip Irrigation Guide for Potatoes in the Treasure Valley. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis. EM 8912-E. 8p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/43803/em8912.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., R.J. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, L.B. Jensen, and J. Klauzer. 2013. Drip irrigation guide for onion growers in the Treasure Valley. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service. EM 8901 8p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/43725/em8901.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., B.M. Shock, and T. Welch. 2013. Strategies for efficient irrigation water use. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service. EM8783. 7p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/37465/em8783.pdf<br /> <br /> Shock, C.C., R.J. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, A.B. Pereira, and M. ONeill. 2013. Drip irrigation guide for growers of hybrid poplar. Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Oregon State University Extension Service. EM 8902 7p. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/43729/em8902.pdf<br /> <br /> Sorensen, R.B., Butts, C.L., and Nuti, R.C. 2011. Deep Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Cotton in the Southeast. Jour. Cotton Sci. 15:233-242.<br /> <br /> Sorensen, R.B., Lamb, M.C., Nuti, R.C., and Butts, C.L. 2012. Corn yield and economic return with nitrogen applied through drip tubing. Online. Crop Management doi:10.1094/CM-2012-0127-01-RS.

Impact Statements

1. Direct measurements of apple and grape basal ET and magnitude of water stress in the cool humid climate of NY has provided NY growers with local general guidelines for irrigation. The new apple-specific ET model has been incorporated into an automated online system for NY growers to optimize irrigation. Since the standard ETo method makes errors of over-irrigation in cool years, the new model should save significant irrigation water for growers.
2. Irrigation scheduling allows for a more efficient use of water, and the use of Watermarks is a viable strategy for irrigation scheduling of alfalfa in the WY region. Infrared thermometry is also a promising tool for irrigation scheduling. The prospect of properly determining the onset of water stress on crops encourages development of IRT-based tools for irrigation water management at commercial scale. The combination of IRT with other approaches might be an interesting approach to follow. The use of microirrigation for vegetable production at small scale is growing in WY. Among others, the use of drip irrigation in high tunnel production is on the rise in the region.
3. Calibration of soil moisture instruments promotes improved irrigation scheduling with greater precision and confidence in OR. Crop yields have increased and water is being conserved. Groundwater nitrate contamination has been decreasing continually over the last decade in OR.
4. Presentations of SDI research results in KS reached approximately 150 participants in various venues potentially impacting irrigation management on a large land area in the Central Great Plains and beyond. Adoption and successful use of subsurface drip irrigation systems is being enhanced in KS by extensive and robust technology transfer efforts in the Ogallala region.
5. In USVI, lettuce and kale varieties produced marketable heads in a low pressure irrigation system, which was demonstrated during World Food Day. Growers were enthusiastic about the system for vegetable production. In watermelon, var. Jubilee produced marketable and quality (brix) fruits. In USVI, drip irrigation has been very beneficial for the farming community and our variety trials of vegetables. The use of drip irrigation is a great asset when it comes time for the application of fertilizers.
6. In CA, development of a generalized water production function will allow water use to be based on an objective crop per drop basis. Based on the results of the CA study, we will be able to put a price tag on the benefits and problems associated with both over- and under-irrigation in almonds.
7. If SDI can be shown to be a cost-effective irrigation system for corn production on center pivot corners (ID), it will provide additional conveniently-located acres to help meet demand for corn silage while minimizing labor, energy use, and water use on the SDI area. It will also protect surface and ground water as well or better than any other irrigation system.
8. Better use of irrigation systems and irrigation criteria for onions are increasing onion yields and reducing environmental consequences of onion irrigation in OR. Drip irrigation is used locally on 50 percent of the acres and accounts for over 50 percent of the local production. Combining drip irrigation with careful irrigation scheduling reduces the negative environmental consequences of onion production: water and nutrient applications are very close to the actual needs of onion and nitrate does not leach to groundwater. Nitrogen application rate to drip-irrigated onion in OR has decreased by half as yields have increased. Groundwater water quality is improving in OR over the entire onion production region of the Treasure Valley.
9. Experimental results in NM showed that partial rootzone drying technique has the potential to be adopted as water saving technique in chile production systems.
10. Documentation and discussion of SDI flushing hydraulics in KS will lead to less costly microirrigation designs and also improved maintenance of SDI systems.
11. Pecan root initiation and growth, and development and survival of young Pecan trees are found to be sensitive to soil salinity.

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