Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

A detailed version can be found at http://www.cropinfo.net/W-128/w128.html November 02, 2004 Opening: 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at the Amerisuites Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. Members introduced themselves and minutes from the 2004 meeting in Tampa, FL were discussed and approved. LeRoy Daugherty  distributed 2004 W1128 reports and formats for the 2005 Annual Report. The National Information Management and Support System (NIMSS) Website was highlighted. The NIMSS URL for W1128 is: http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/home.cfm?trackID=5254. The Annual Report format can be found for W1128 at http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/saes.cfm?trackID=5254. He also highlighted proposed reduction in the USDA budget which calls for moving funds from formula-based to competitive grants. There will probably be an increase in funding for priority areas such as water and natural resources research. Brad Rein  first CSREES liaison from Washington. Works in the Plant Animal Systems Unit. The RFA for NRI has a section for water & watersheds (see http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/pdfs/06_nri.pdf. The Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, found at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/sbir/sbir.html, encourages working with reasonable ideas from small businesses. Other Websites of interest to SBIR for funding opportunities can be found at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/sbir/sbir_interest.html State Reports 1) Gary Clark  KSU: Three projects: 1) tapered drip lateral design, 2) microirrigation of popular trees with livestock lagoon waste water, and 3) chlorine dosing in diverted waste water. Poplar trees planted in large containers with capabilities to collect leachate. Trees grew better with lagoon water but there was a build up of salts. Other observations: nitrogen increased in the leaves; SAR was up to 2.1 in June 2005; growth was enhanced but salt problem. 2) Larry Schwankl  UC-Davis: Two projects: 1) iron clogging of drip irrigation systems. Growers dump well water into ponds to settle out heavy iron load. 2) Irrigation of raisin grapes. Experimenting with a new trellis system using second year wood on an alternate trellis. Research is required to find a balanced water application strategy for alternate vines with different water requirements. 3) Freddy Lamm  KSU: Passed out paper of KSU outputs. The URLs are: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Reports/document.htm and http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Photos/Photos.htm. Two experiments: 1) emitter flow rate for soil water redistribution. Better lateral movement & wetting of soil surface after several rainfall events. 2) Emitter spacing & water redistribution. At the 2 ft spacing, water was moving more uniformly parallel then perpendicular to the line. At the 4-ft spacing, water was not getting all the way between emitters. 4) Ken Shackel  UC-Davis: Current practices calculate reference ET based on the same dataset but use different calculations. A common method for calculating ET must be utilized by W1128; will report on a daily time step basis. Required data for reference ET calculations are: radiation, temperature, wind speed, and humidity. ET is based on surface area, consequently express results on total surface area regardless of wet and dry areas. A breakout session to follow. 5) Hank Taber  ISU: Two experiments: 1) irrigation scheduling with bell pepper. The 2004 was a perfect year for peppers but not so for 2005. Two treatments to schedule irrigation. Both systems were satisfactory in 2004 but the tensiometer treatment was not as productive in 2005. 2) The pre-sidedressed soil nitrate test (PSNT) was used to correlate NO3-N in top 30 cm of the soil profile. There was an N response in 2004 but not in 2005. It appears to be site or year specific. 6) Tom Thomson  UofA: Encouraging adoption of SDI by AZ farmers. SDI is installed on about 25,000 acres. Very important in melon production. Driving adoption includes: 1) increased water cost - $40.00/acre-ft; 2) decreasing availability of water  drought & reallocation to tribes; and 3) improved yield & quality. High initial costs, increased management demand, and uncertainty of land ownership have limited adoption. UofA has a web site documenting a large scale demonstration at the Maricopa research center at http://cals.arizona.edu/azdrip. 7) Mick ONeill  NMSU: Research on corn ET and N requirements under large scale SDI production systems. Gophers continued to plague the project. Work continued on surface drip irrigated hybrid poplar research. The clones OP-367 and 311-93 are most adapted to the region. Future direction will concentrate on surface drip with hybrid poplar. The SDI corn research will be discontinued. 8) Dana Porter  TAMU: Several SDI projects are scattered through the state of Texas: 1) Helms Farm - recently acquired 373 acre  using 86 acres for SDI. Out reach efforts on web: http://lubbock.tamu.edu/cotton. 2) Dawson County - large scale cotton variety test; 20 acre, 8 research projects with 22 zones, individually metered, at the filters house. Business Meeting: Review of collaborative process look at milestone. Accomplishments & Impacts to be developed around milestones. The following are Milestone Leaders who will coordinate the annual report. MS-1, Lamm; MS-2, Clark; MS-3, Hill; MS-4, Yitayew; MS-5, Lamm; MS-6, Schwankl; MS-7, Shackel; MS-8, Tabor; MS-9, Shock. State summaries and intermediate results can go on the website as a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation. November 03, 2005 9) Ramone Arancibia  UVI: Inherited trials from predecessors: 1) studies on banana using tensiometers; and 2) studies on pepper using a fixed irrigation schedule. No differences in the banana trial. Too much rain & 100% viral infection in the pepper trial. UVI will change to tomato in 2006 and look at ornamentals in water catchments. 10) Mike Bartolo  CSU: Concentrating drip with high value crops. Using GPS-guided tractors and other specialized equipment. The city of Aurora recently purchased 3,000 ac-ft of Arkansas River water to exchange saline well water for good quality surface water. Mapping salinity with an EM-38. Also doing drip on corn. Irrigating/furrow like the grower. Using watermarks and a weather station network. Discussion: AZ, FL, CA & HI did work on chemistry of water for specific problems but those people are now retired. Some documentation includes: KS  water quality assessment guidelines for SDI and state water quality map; CA  Chemigation guideline. An urgent need to organize information and URLs for chemical guidelines. A 1-page check list of initial questions to ask the system installers should be developed. 11) Ted Sammis  NMSU: Hybrid poplar clone OP-367 expanded to a large-scale plantation. Weed control is a major issue. Research to determine water-use and scaling factors for hybrid poplar grown under incomplete cover. An OPEC covariance system, an inexpensive meteorological system (~ $5,000), was used. Results were similar to those found in the literature, e.g. 30% cover = 0.6 and about 70% cover = maximum ET. Business Meeting Continued: W1128 researchers must complete sections for 2005 Annual Report and forward to secretary. Dana Porter elected as new officer. San Antonio selected for 2006 annual meeting to precede the IA meeting; Nov 1-3 with tour on Nov 3. Dr. Porter will act as local coordinator. 12) Raul Sanchez  Purdue: Presently on sabbatical at Purdue. Working on hosting an international microirrigation meeting in Spain in 2007 or 2008. Dates to be decided in the spring of 2006. Time factor discussion: 2008 is more realistic than 2006 or 2007. 13) Larry Parson  UF: Florida starting to use highly treated, reclaimed water for irrigation. Agriculture is the primary user followed by residential, golf courses, and industrial power plants. Using the ECH2O sensors to monitor moisture in sandy Florida soils. They work well under perfect conditions but fertigation affects readings; reliability in the field is questionable. Discussion: All TDR probes are sensitive to salinity (e.g. fertilizer). The Irrigas probe is good in sandy soil. The Acclima probe is low cost @ $200. 14) Paul Colaizzi  USDA-ARS: The Ogallala aquifer is the main water source for agriculture & livestock in the Texas panhandle. Results with grain sorghum can be found in Trans. ASAE 47 (5) 2004. Barriers to adoption include: capital investment, cracking Pullman clay soil, and increased management with permanent beds. All the USDA-ARS Bushland information is at http://www.cprl.ars.usda.gov/index.htm. 15) Mahbub Alam  KSU: SDI survey carried in the summer of 2005. There are about 20,000 acres of SDI in Kansas. Research with SDI started in 1989. A major problem is plugging from iron slime caused by CaCO3. Most users in are the 51-200 acre range and the majority of respondents were satisfied with SDI. Problems include filtration, rodents, and gophers. 16) Clint Shock  OSU: Crops include forages, grains, native plants for seed, onions, and hybrid popular (see http://www.cropinfo.net). Working with various drip tape and bed configurations for potato. Nicer crops with drip on flat beds than furrow. Are differences in the potatoes are due to the irrigation system or soil temperature differences? Collaboration with NASA to automate control systems and probes. Information about the NASA Sensor Web can be found at http://sensorwebs.jpl.nasa.gov. Business Meeting Continued  Collaborative Efforts Ken Shackel  ET collaborations: Penman Monteith used as standard; documentation in ET folder sent by Ken - PMday.xls. Required data: latitude, elevation, solar radiation, max/min temps, relative humidity or dew point, wind speed. The symbols ETo and ETr are commonly used for equations that estimate ETref for 0.12 m tall, cool-season grass and 0.5 m tall alfalfa. The subscript s was added to indicate that the ASCE-EWRI (2004) standardized equations were used. ETos and ETrs give ETref rates similar to ETo and ETr, respectively. The PMday.xls application program calculates ETos and ETrs from daily weather data. Documentation for the Daily Reference Evapotranspiration (ETref) Calculator can be found in the User's Guide for PMday.xls at: http://biomet.ucdavis.edu/evapotranspiration/PMdayXLS/PMday.htm. Should look at both ETos and ETrs. The UC-Davis site http://biomet.ucdavis.edu has links to the above calculator and other valuable ET information. KSU Survey development: Must run any survey through a committee at the respective universities (IRB). There are many issues the touch on privacy. There was a question regarding the inclusion of location data, i.e., zip code. The IRB groups at universities can help with this question and the overall survey development. KSU has a web tutorial at http://www.k-state.edu/research/comply/ibc/training/ of what is entailed in surveys to maintain privacy & legal requirements. November 04, 2005: Field Trip Sundance Farms and Arizona Drip (http://www.azdrip.com/) is owned and managed by Howard Wuertz who switched to SDI over 20 years ago. Tape is deep enough to allow equipment to run over and between lines without damage. They are growing cotton, wheat, barley, watermelon, broccoli, and other crops. Mr. Wuertz has also developed conservation equipment. Sundance Farms now has 2,500 SDI-irrigated acres. We next visited the farm of John Chernicki. Doing contract research on several crops. Expressed concern that the price of water (~ $41/ac-ft) might increase thereby reducing the ability of agriculture to survive in the area. We then visited the UofAs Maricopa Agricultural Center and the USDA-ARS facility housed at Maricopa. Areas of research include aquaculture, cotton, irrigation, specialty crops, and entomology. Dr. Muluneh Yitayew demonstrated a bubbler system for irrigating trees. Dr. Tom Thompson demonstrated his large scale research project that focuses on drip irrigation and fertigation of vegetable crops.

A) Milestones 1) Develop pilot survey instrument in cooperation with extension personnel. CSU: A survey questionnaire has been developed at the Arkansan Valley Research Center to determine drip irrigation acreage, practices and problems in the Patterson Hollow Watershed. The study is sponsored by the East Otero Conservation District and funded by the EPA through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Its purpose is to assess drip irrigation in the Patterson Hollow Watershed and develop Best Management Practices to minimize potential water quality impairment associated with leaching of salts, nitrates, and selenium. KSU: Kansas State University developed and implemented a survey of SDI users in the state of Kansas. The responses were for fields covering approximately 8000 acres. Approximately 63% of the systems had been installed since 2000. It had been anticipated that crop germination might be a major expressed problem since the Central Great Plains region had been in an extreme drought from 2000-2003. However only about 5% indicated germination was an important problem in Kansas. Conversely, over 75% of the respondents were concerned about rodents. Further follow-up survey work is planned at KSU. Colorado State University is planning to implement a survey in the near future. Both surveys were discussed at the W1128 annual meeting and suggestions for improvement were made. TAMU: Texas Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist and county extension agents have collaborated to develop local intensive surveys of agricultural producers using subsurface drip irrigation. While these were initiated at the local/county level, the district irrigation specialist (assisting all these agents) assisted in coordinating these single-county assessments into multi-county efforts. TAMU: Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station faculty have drafted a pilot survey to include irrigation (including SDI) and agronomic practices of producers in the Texas South Plains region. This survey will be conducted in winter and early spring 2006, in conjunction with county program committee activities and regular agricultural producer education events (CEU activities). 2) Progress reports on buried and surface positioned tubing flow rates, filter performance, and treatment practices with wastewater. UC-Davis: This past year a study, entitled "Modeling subsurface drip application of onsite wastewater treatment effluent," was initiated. The fate of pollutants from subsurface drip irrigation of septic tank effluent has been studied in soil-filled containers at the UC Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant. Data from the container tests are presently being used to refine a model (Hydrus 2D) that will predict the adsorption and biodegradation of pollutants in the soil. Initial results with the model have shown that a system designed for efficient irrigation generally minimizes annual nitrate percolation. It has also shown that nitrification and denitrification rates in the soil profile were enhanced when effluent was applied in a brief daily pulse rather than continuously. While this project continues, a companion project related to pretreatment of the effluent using paracetic acid will be initiated in 2006. KSU: Lab tests conducted to evaluate treatment requirements for using livestock lagoon wastewater with drip irrigation systems found that treatment chemistry was similar to municipal wastewater; however livestock lagoon wastewater ammonia concentrations were much higher. High ammonia concentrations result in a high chlorine demand for treatment to kill bacteria. Required chlorine amounts to kill bacteria were decreased when lagoon water was treated with acid to reduce pH to 2.0. Results of this work will be used to develop maintenance guidelines for drip systems that are used to apply wastewater. KSU: Livestock lagoon wastewater was discharged through four different subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) lateral types for two summers with a total run time of 260 hours. Two of the tube products were designed for use with wastewater while the other two were not. All four had relatively high flow (4L/h) emitters and all maintained consistent lateral discharge throughout both summers. 3) Obtain dripline products and filters for lab tests, field tests and analyses. UC-Davis: This past year we initiated a project comparing disc and screen filters for removing algae from surface irrigation water. Its goal is to objectively evaluate disc filtration for removal of algae (Spirogyra) and to compare its performance with that of screen filters. For our preliminary tests, three mesh sizes (80,120,155) were evaluated in the laboratory with different algal loading rates. Our initial observations indicate that the clogging characteristics of disc and screen filters are different. Clogging in a disc filter proceeds in a linear fashion, whereas, for a screen filter, clogging proceeds very slowly at first, but rapidly increases once a level of contaminant forms on the screen surface. Overall, the disc filter is more efficient in filtering the algal contaminated water. The time and suspended solids retained on a disc filter for a predetermined pressure drop are both more than twice that of a screen filter. Removal of the impurities of the disc filter is also more efficient than it is on a comparable screen filter. Our laboratory research will continue, before initiating a field study this next year. 4) Develop and finalize protocols for evaluation of subsurface dripline and filter installations. UA: Field data collected on soil water content from a subsurface drip irrigated field was analyzed to see the possibility of using water content to evaluate uniformity of water application by subsurface drip system. Normal statistical and geostatistical methods were applied to analyze the relationship between soil texture and water content distribution. Pressure and discharge measurements were also used to evaluate uniformity of the subsurface drip system. The preliminary result shows a good agreement between uniformity based on soil water content and ones based on discharge and pressure. 5) Conduct studies on effect of dripline depth and dripline placement. KSU: A research study at Kansas State University (KSU) has indicated that dripline depths ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 m are acceptable for corn production on silt loam soils in situations where crop germination is not a factor. Further studies are being conducted with soybean and sunflower. Preliminary results from a silt loam soil water redistribution study at KSU are indicating water movement parallel to the dripline is greater than perpendicular movement for emitter spacings ranging from 0.3 to 1.2 m. Further work is needed to determine if these distribution differences are permanent or transient and being related to the recent system installation. TAMU: In the spring of 2005 a new SDI system was installed at the Lamesa Cotton Growers AgCARES research farm in Dawson County, Texas. This site includes multiple tape spacing (every row and alternate furrow spacing). The Amarillo fine sandy loam soil at this site provides an excellent complement to the clay loam soils at another location (Hale County, Texas) for evaluation of SDI lateral spacing, soil profile moisture distribution, and crop germination issues. The Dawson County SDI system will be the focus of acid injection, variety, nutrient management, IPM, and irrigation capacity studies. The USDA-ARS in Bushland, TX is evaluating the effectiveness of different bed-lateral designs and lateral depths for crop germination. The first successful season of soybeans was completed in 2005. Germination and crop yield data are presently under analysis. 6) Conduct mitigation of iron clogging field tests. UC-Davis: California completed field tests on 5 chemicals to mitigate the impacts of iron clogging in drip irrigation systems. Iron clogging is a significant problem in some areas using groundwater for irrigation. Iron is a naturally occurring constituent in some groundwaters. When desolved iron exposed to air begins to precipitate and settle out of the water. Four of the chemical products tested, all commercially available, were phosphonate / phosphonic acid products. Two sites (drip irrigation on winegrapes) with problematic iron levels (one site at 4 ppm and one at 18 ppm iron) were evaluated. At both iron levels, the phosphonate / phosphonic acid products were effective in mitigating iron clogging of emitters. In addition, a pond used for aeration / settling of precipitated iron (20 ppm in source well) was also evaluated. The pond was effective in reducing the iron levels to 5-8 ppm in the pond discharge water. 7) Agreement and standardization of data requirements and format guidelines for evaluation of ET scheduling procedures (MS Excel format). UC-Davis: The participants of W1128 agreed to use both short and tall crop reference evapotranspiration (ET) values (ETos and ETrs, respectively) as estimates for evaporative demand, and to express all quantities of applied water, rain and ET as equivalent depth units (mm or inches) over the entire area under consideration, when reporting an analyzing irrigation experiments. The ET method will be based on the standardized Penman Monteith equation from the Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil engineers (ASCE), and can be found at http://biomet.ucdavis.edu/. The participants further agreed that either daily or hourly weather data would be acceptable as inputs for the calculation of ET, and that, as far as possible, the weather data should be obtained under environmental conditions representative of the agricultural conditions under study (i.e., weather station data from a location nearby to the experimental plots). NMSU: A hybrid poplar experiment was initiated at Farmington New Mexico with the objectives of determining the water use and crop coefficient for popular under incomplete cover. In order to scale down crop coefficients from complete to incomplete cover, the experiment is designed to determine the scaling factor for the ratio of the crop coefficient (kc) to the maximum crop coefficient (kcmax). The 95-acre experiment consisted of hybrid poplar planted at a tree spacing of 12 x 12 ft. The application rate 0.05 inch/day over total area represented 0.5 inches per day based on a projected area of 10% at the beginning of the growing season. Evapotranspiration (ET) was measured using OPEC Eddy Covariance equipment. Projected area of the trees was measured using a balloon mounted camera and Photoshop software. Reference ET was determine from a near by weather station The crop coefficient, expressed by the quadratic equation y = -45,530 + 2.36x - 0.00003x2, increased from 0.2 to 0.6 where it remained until the end of the growing season. The projected area at the end of the growing season was 30%. The kcmax of 1.1 from the literature divided into a kc of 0.6 resulted in a kc/kcmax= 0.55 similar to published values for almonds of 0.6 for a projected area of 30%. 8) Conduct studies on nitrogen dynamics and efficiency. ISU: The states of IA, NM, FL, OR, and CO agreed to monitor the use of nitrogen (N) applied to various crops as, peppers (IA), poplars (NM), strawberries (FL), potatoes (OR), and onions (CO), with microirrigation management systems to understand N dynamics under each state's unique cultural system. Monitoring tools include soil ammonium and nitrate tests, plant leaf N analysis and/or SPAD measurements, leaf petiole tissue sap nitrate test, and soil water leachate nitrate and total N measurements. At least one tool will be used at all sites. Iowa, for example, will compare soil nitrate, leaf petiole sap nitrate, and leaf SPAD measurements for a commercial bell pepper crop to determine which will most accurately predict the need for a sidedress N application. Comparisons between leaf nitrogen and SPAD readings will be carried out in New Mexico. Florida will use soil water leachate nitrate and total N measurements to evaluate N fertilizer practices. NMSU: Hybrid poplar growth and development continued to be monitored in trials established in Farmington, NM during 2002 and 2003. A range of responses in height, DBH, and wood volume demonstrates the variability of clonal adaptation to growth in an arid/semi-arid environment and calcareous soil with elevated pH. Chlorosis, as measures with a SPAD meter, is evident in all clones but to varying degrees. Response to iron chelate applications is also variable with respect to clones. In order to reduce costs associated with iron chelate application, a trial was established in 2005 to compare chlorosis recovery from applications of iron chelate and composted biosolids obtained from a municipal waste-water treatment facility. SPAD readings were highest in poplar leaves for the 20-ton per acre treatment followed by the 10-ton per acre treatment, the iron chelate treatment, and the control, respectively. Analysis is underway to determine chlorophyll content of poplar leaves from the various treatments. In order to evaluate a larger population of hybrid poplar adapted to the arid/semi-arid environment of the Four Corners region, 65 clones were planted in a replicated trial during 2005. Variable responses to iron chelate applications, as determined with a SPAD meter, were expressed by the clones. 9) Conduct studies on micro-environmental differences in potato. OR: Both 'Umatilla Russet' and 'Ranger Russet' potatoes were grown using sprinkler irrigation and 4 drip irrigation layouts at 44,849 seed/ha. The three drip-irrigation configurations described below on flat beds and drip irrigation on conventional hilled beds (configuration 4) were compared with sprinkler irrigation on conventional hilled beds. The drip configuration on conventional hilled beds (configuration 4) was the least productive of the 4 treatments, which may help explain why many potato experiments with drip irrigation are often unsuccessful. All the drip configurations produced more marketable yield per applied water than sprinkler irrigation. OR: The effectiveness of alternative drip line placement in flat beds was evaluated for 'Umatilla Russet' potato in terms of yield, tuber quality, and soil water dynamics. Three drip line/potato row placements were examined (drip line installed 0.08 m deep directly over the potato rows 0.91 m apart; drip line installed 0.08 m deep between double rows of potatoes 0.4 m apart; and drip line installed at 0.08 m depth but with the drip line offset 0.15 - 0.2 m from the potato rows spaced 0.91 m apart.) Each configuration was planted at both 44,850 and 59,800 seed/ha. The soil water remained adequate all season, since the soil water potential remained in the ideal range (-30 kPa) for all drip treatments regardless of configuration. The total amount of water applied by the drip systems plus rainfall averaged only 399.5 mm, 66 percent of the estimated potato evapotranspiration (604.0 mm). The reduced water required suggests that drip irrigation is a very efficient method for applying limited amounts of water for potato production. The average yield in flat beds showed little difference caused by drip tape configuration or plant population. The high population produced significantly more 113.5- to 170-g tubers, and there was a significant year by population interaction. The lowest yield of US No. 2 tubers (an advantage) was produced by the high population in two rows per bed with drip tape above the row (configuration 1). B) Other progress not associated with milestones FL: Several moderately-priced soil water sensors are being evaluated and calibrated. Advantages and disadvantages of different sensors for use in citrus groves have been noted. Field reliability has been a problem with some sensors, but others have performed acceptably. Some sensors are influenced by fertilizer salts. FL: Tests on Hamlin and Valencia oranges show that water stress imposed in fall & winter can increase fruit brix and acid. Severe water stress caused by rainfall exclusion caused brix/acid ratio to decline and bloom date to be delayed. Growers can conserve water by withholding irrigation in fall & winter, improve solids, and not impact yield greatly. FL: Reclaimed water use continues to increase in Florida. Our tests showing that this water can be safely used has led to a 168% increase in edible crop acreage and a more than 8500% increase in residential area using reclaimed water in the past 12 years. FL: Tests continue to determine microsprinkler irrigation land area coverage needed for optimum citrus production. Four irrigation treatments of approx 25, 50, 75, and 100% of total land area coverage were established. Optimum coverage was found to be 50 to 75%. There was no advantage to 100% coverage. 25% coverage was inadequate and trees here showed greater water stress. Ambersweet orange fruit loss due to hurricanes was greater than other orange varieties. Other leveraged work not directly related to 2005 milestones Lamm, F. R. et al., Summer 2005, Deficit Irrigation Management, a special project in Ogallala Initiative, USDA Cooperative Agreement, $500,000. 2005-2009. Lamm, F.R., D.H. Rogers, L.R. Stone, and J. Peterson. Water conservation-increased efficiency in usage. Summer 2005. USDA-CSREES Special Research Grants Program. $69,449. Lamm, F. R. et al. Summer 2005, Ogallala Initiative, USDA Cooperative Agreement, $40,000 allocated to R-304. F.R. Lamm. Improved irrigation micromanagement for corn. Pioneer Hi-Bred Inc. $8,000. ONeill, M.K. and D. Smeal. 2005. Low-tech microirrigation for small-scale Navajo producers. US Department of Interior  Bureau of Reclamation. $31,320. ONeill, M.K. 2005. Sub-contract to: Stanton, B. 2004.Modification of the composition and quality of hybrid poplar biomass in the Pacific Northwest. US Department of Energy. $5,000.

Refereed Publications: Clark, G. A., F. R. Lamm, and D. H. Rogers. 2005. Sensitivity of thin-walled drip tape emitter discharge to water temperature. Appl. Engr in Agric. 21(5):855-863. Enciso, J. M., P. D. Colaizzi, W. L. Multer. 2005. Economic Analysis of subsurface drip irrigation lateral spacing and installation depth for cotton. Transactions of the ASAE. Vol. 48(1): 197-204. Fares, A., P. Buss, M. Dalton, A.I. El-Kadi, and L.R. Parsons. 2004. Dual field calibration of capacitance and neutron soil water sensors in a shrinking-swelling clay soil. Vadose Zone J. 3:1390-1399. Kim SH, Shackel, KA, Lieth JH (2004). Bending alters water balance and reduces photosynthesis of rose shoots. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 129:896-901. Lamm, F. R. and T. P. Trooien. 2005. Dripline depth effects on corn production when crop establishment is nonlimiting. Appl. Engr in Agric. 21(5):835-840. Morgan, K., Obreza, T., Scholberg, J., L.R., Parsons, and T.A. Wheaton. 2005. Citrus Water Uptake Dynamics on Central Florida Sandy Soils. Soil Science Society America. In press. ONeill, M.K., D. Smeal , R.N. Arnold, and K. Lombard. 2006 Growth and survival of drip-irrigated hybrid poplar in the semi-arid Four Corners region. Journal of Sustainable Forestry. In Press. Pablo, R.G., M.K. ONeill, B.D. McCaslin, M. D. Remmeng, J. Keenan. 2006 Evaluation of corn grain yield and water use efficiency using subsurface drip irrigation. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. In Press. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2005. Onion response to drip irrigation intensity and emitter flow rate. HortTechnology. 15:652-659. Steele, M. 2005. Assessment of chlorine dosing with livestock wastewater effluent. M.S. Thesis. Kansas State University. Abstracts, Conferences, and Proceedings: Alam, M and D. Rogers. 2005. Field Performance of Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) in Kansas. In Proc. Irrigation Assn. Intl.Irrigation Technical Conf., November 6-8, 2005, Phoenix, AZ. Available from Irrigation Assn., Falls Church VA. IA Paper No. IA05-1209. http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Reports/2005/IA05-1209.pdf. Bandaranayake, W., L.R. Parsons, M.S. Borhan, and J. D. Holeton. 2005. Performance of capacitance type ECH2O probes when estimating soil water content in a well drained Florida sandy soil. Soil Sci. Soc. America. 69th Ann. Meeting. Salt Lake City. p. 112. Borhan, M.S., L.R. Parsons, W. Bandaranayake. 2004. Evaluation of a Low Cost Capacitance ECH2O Soil Moisture Sensor for Citrus in a Sandy Soil. Irrigation Assoc. Conf. Proceedings. Pp. 447-458. Dukes, M. D., D. Z. Haman, F. Lamm, J. R. Buchanan and C. R. Camp. 2005. Site selection for Subsurface Drip Irrigation Systems in the Humid Region. Proc. ASCE-EWRI Water Congress, May 15-19, 2005, Anchorage, AK. 11 pp. Enciso, Juan, John Jifon and Bob Wiedenfeld. 2005. Subsurface Drip Irrigation of Onions: Effects of Emitter Spacing and Drip Depth on Yield. Paper number 052242, 2005 ASAE Annual Meeting. Fares, A., L.R. Parsons, T.A. Obreza, and K. Morgan. 2004. Spatial and Temporal Plant Water Use and Rain Inputs as Affected by Citrus Canopy and Microsprinkler Irrigation System. Irrigation Assoc. Conf. Proceedings. Pp. 37-45. Fares, A., M. Zekri, and L.R. Parsons. 2004. TheHelper, a User-Friendly Irrigation Scheduling Tool in Florida and Hawaii. Irrigation Assoc. Conf. Proceedings. Pp. 413-423. Heyduck, Rob, Mick ONeill, Kevin Lombard, Dan Smeal, and Rick Arnold. 2005. Hybrid poplar production for multiple benefits in the semi-arid southwest. November 7-10. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. Lamm, F. R. 2005. SDI for conserving water in corn production In Proc. ASCE-EWRI Water Congress, May 15-19, 2005, Anchorage, AK. 12 pp. Lamm, F. R. and R. M. Aiken. 2005. Effect of irrigation frequency for limited subsurface drip irrigation of corn. In Proc. Irrigation Assn. Intl. Irrigation Technical Conf., November 6-8, 2005, Phoenix, AZ. Available from Irrigation Assn., Falls Church VA. IA Paper No. IA05-1264. Lombard, K., M.K. ONeill, D. Smeal, R.N. Arnold, and J.G. Mexal. 2005. Hybrid poplar establishment under harsh environmental and edaphic conditions. 9th North American Agroforestry Conference. June 12-15. Rochester, MN. http://cinram.umn.edu/afta2005/pdf/Lombard.PDF. McWilliams, D. and J. Gleason. 2005. Optimizing Irrigation in New Mexico. Contributing Interviewee. Rio Grande Basin Initiative. Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station. New Mexico State University. Las Cruces, NM. Noling, J.W., L.R. Parsons, & T. A. Wheaton. 2004. 2005 Florida citrus pest management guide: Best Management Practices for soil-applied agricultural chemicals. HS-185. Electronic Data Information Source. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Pub. 5 pp. O'Neill, M.K., K. Lombard, D. Smeal, R.N. Arnold, and J.G. Mexal. 2005. Opportunities for hybrid poplar production in the Four Corners region of New Mexico. 96th Annual Meeting, American Society of Agronomy. November 6-10. Salt Lake City, UT. http://crops.confex.com/crops/2005am/techprogram/P7794.HTM. Pablo, R.G., M.K. O'Neill, B.D. McCaslin, M.D. Remmenga, and J. Keenan. 2005. Corn production and water use efficiency under subsurface drip irrigation. 96th Annual Meeting, American Society of Agronomy. November 6-10. Salt Lake City, UT. http://crops.confex.com/crops/2005am/techprogram/P4362.HTM. Parsons, L.R. 2004. Changes in Reclaimed Water Use in Florida. HortScience 39(4). Pp. 855-856. Parsons, L.R. and B. Boman. 2005. Best Management Practices in Florida Citrus Production. HortScience 40(4). P. 942. Parsons, L.R. and K.T. Morgan. 2004. Management of microsprinkler systems for Florida citrus. HS-958. Electronic Data Information Source. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Pub. 7 pp. Parsons, L.R., E. Etxeberria. 2004. Effects of Reduced Fall and Winter Irrigation on Citrus Fruit Quality. HortScience 39(4). Pp. 886. Rivera, L.E. 2005. Manejo de microriego en la producción de yautía en la costa sur de Puerto Rico ("microirrigation management of tanier in the southern coast of Puerto Rico"). Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Ciencias Agrícolas. Scientific Annual Meeting. Novemebr 18, 2005. Arroyo, PR. oral presentation. Rogers, D. H. and F. R. Lamm. 2005. Key considerations for a successful subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system. In proceedings of the Central Plains Irrigation Conference, Sterling, CO, Feb. 16-17, 2005. Available from CPIA, 760 N.Thompson, Colby, KS. pp. 113-118. Román-Paoli, E. 2005. Evaluation of soil moisture levels on growth and productivity of young citrus trees. 41th Annual Meeting.,Caribbean Food Crop Society. 10-16 July 2005. Le Gosier, Guadalupe. Román-Paoli, E. 2005. Uso de tensiómetros en la programación del microriego en aguacate. (" Use of tensiometers on avocado microirrigation scheduling") Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Ciencias Agrícolas. Cientific Annual Meeting. December 3, 2004. Arroyo, PR. Poster presentation. Román-Paoli, E., and F. Román. 2005. Evaluation of soil moisture levels on growth and productivity of young citrus trees. Proc. 41 Annual Meeting. Caribbean Food Crop Society. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, A.B. Pereira, and E.P. Eldredge. 2005. Research using automated irrigation systems. Irrigation Association, 26th Annual International Irrigation Show, Emerging Irrigation Technology. November 6-8, 2005, Phoenix, Arizona. Conference Proceedings p. 31-39. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, A.B. Pereira, and E.P. Eldredge. 2005. Innovations in Irrigation Automation for Crop Research. ASA/CSSA/SSSA Annual Meeting. November 6-10, 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah. Shock, C.C. 2005. Nitrogen management with drip and sprinkler irrigation. Western Nutrient Management Conference. Salt Lake City, UT, March 3-4, 2005, Vol. 6:66-71. http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/nm/WCC103/2005_Proccedings/Shock%20N%20Management%20pg66.pdf Shock, C.C. 2005 Development of irrigation best management practices for potato production from a research perspective. Symposium on Best Management Practices for Nutrients and Irrigation: Research, Regulation, and Future Directions. Oregon Potato Association of America annual meeting, July 17 - 21, 2005, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Shock, C.C. 2005. Nutrient and Water Management in United States Agriculture, Issues and Research Priorities. 45th Anniversary of Scientia Agricultura Sinica and Symposium on the Frontiers of World Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, November 20, 2005. Smeal, D. Z.F. Williams, M.M. West, M.K. ONeill, and R.N. Arnold. 2005. A low-cost drip irrigation system for small plots. 10th Xeriscape Conference: Adapting to Our Changing Reality. Feb 24-26, 2005. Albuquerque, NM. Extension Publications: Enciso, Juan and Dana Porter. 2005. Basics of Microirrigation. TCE Fact Sheet B-6160. Texas Cooperative Extension. The Texas A&M University System, College Station, TX. Improved Irrigation Scheduling Network Helps Make Every Inch of Moisture Count. News release Nov. 22, 2005. Texas A&M University System Agriculture Program News and Public Affairs. College Station, TX. Klauzer, J. and C.C. Shock. 2005. Growers use less nitrogen fertilizer on drip-irrigated onion than furrow-irrigated onion. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1062: 94-96. Parsons, L.R. 2004. Is a Freeze Likely this Winter? Florida Grower. Vol. 97(12). December. p. 26. Parsons, L.R. 2004. Unwanted Visitors. Florida Grower. Vol. 97(10). October. P. 28. Parsons, L.R. 2005. Essential IrrigationThe Right Time. Florida Grower. Vol. 98(2). Feb. p. 30. Parsons, L.R. 2005. Freeze Forecast. Florida Grower. Vol. 98(11). Nov. p. 38. Parsons, L.R. 2005. Population Boom. Florida Grower. Vol. 98(7). July. p. 29 Parsons, L.R. 2005. Predictions for the 2005 Hurricane Season. Florida Grower Vol. 98(9). Sept. p. 34. Parsons, L.R. 2005. Sensors Equal Savings. Florida Grower. Vol. 98(4). April. p. 42. Parsons, L.R. 2005. Weather and irrigation for the New Year. Citrus Industry. Vol. 86(1). pp. 16-17. Shock, C.C., R. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, A.B. Pereira, and M. ONeill. 2005. Drip irrigation guide for growers of hybrid poplar. Oregon State University Extension Service. EM 8902 6p. Shock, C.C., R. Flock, E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, L. Jensen, and J. Klauzer. 2005. Drip irrigation guide for onion growers in the Treasure Valley. Oregon State University Extension Service. EM 8901 8p. Shock, C.C., E.P. Eldredge, and A.B. Pereira. 2005. Planting configuration and plant population effects on drip-irrigated Umatilla russet potato yield and grade. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1062:156-165. Shock, C.C., E.P. Eldredge, and A.B. Pereira. 2005. Irrigation system comparison for the production of Ranger Russet and Umatilla Russet potato. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1062:173-176. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, A.B. Pereira, and C.A. Shock. 2005. Automatic collection, radio transmission, and use of soil water data. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1062:211-222. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, C.A. Shock, A.B. Pereira, and E.P. Eldredge. 2005. Innovations in irrigation automation for crop research. ASA/CSSA/SSSA Annual Meeting. November 6-10, 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah. Shock, C.C. 2005. Nitrogen management with drip and sprinkler irrigation. Western Nutrient Management Conference. Salt Lake City, UT, March 3-4, 2005, Vol. 6:66-71. http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/nm/WCC103/2005_Proccedings/Shock%20N%20Management%20pg66.pdf. Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2005. Micro-irrigation alternatives for hybrid poplar production 2004 trial. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1062:106-117. Texas Irrigation Scheduling Network Improves. E-Hay Weekly. November 29, 2005. Hay and Forage Grower Magazine. A Primedia Business Magazines & Media publication. News articles: Researchers Test Drip Irrigation Design And Returns. Newwaves E-letter. Newsletter of the Texas Water Resources Institute, Dec. 5, 2005. Researchers test drip irrigation design and returns. High Plains Journal. High Plains Publishers, Inc. http://www.hpj.com/resultscotton.cfm