Life Sciences Commons^™

Nitrogen And Water Effects On Canopy Sensor Measurements For Site-Specific Management Of Crops, Nicholas C. Ward

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Water and nitrogen (N) are undoubtedly the two largest agricultural inputs globally. Coupled with advances in site-specific management technology their integration into production agriculture will allow for the most efficient use these crop input resources. Active canopy sensors offer the ability to measure biophysical plant traits rapidly and make assessments about plant status. Specifically, optical sensor measurements of light reflectance assess plant N status allowing for in-season and on-the-go N recommendations and applications; while infrared thermometers (IRT) measurement of canopy temperature can be used a tool for irrigation management. To evaluate how these technologies work among different plant stress environments …

Long-Term Effects Of Alternative Residue Management Practices On Near-Surface Soil Properties And Soybean Production In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System In Eastern Arkansas, Christopher Ryan Norman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adoption of management practices that maintain or increase soil organic matter (SOM), which contains 58% carbon (C) on average, may help to mitigate climate change by sequestering atmospheric C. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the long-term trends in SOM, soil C and nitrogen (N), bulk density, various soil chemical properties (i.e., pH, electrical conductivity [EC], and Mehlich-3-extractable nutrients) in the top 10 cm, and soybean yield as affected by residue burning (burning and non-burning), tillage (conventional and no-tillage), irrigation (irrigated and non-irrigated), and N-fertilization/residue level (high and low) in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-soybean [Glycine …

Efficient Irrigation For Recreational Turfgrass In New England: Evapotranspiration And Crop Coefficients, James W. Poro

Masters Theses

As water demand increases it will become more imperative for golf course superintendents, landscape managers, and other industry professionals to improve water use efficiency in the management of recreational turfgrass. Scheduling irrigation according to actual turfgrass evapotranspiration rates (ET_T) is an integral component of efficient irrigation practices. Impracticality of field derived ET_T for industry use, however, directs the need of weather station derived reference (predicted) evapotranspiration (ET₀). To accurately predict (estimate) ET_T of turf and other crops, scientifically derived landscape (crop) coefficients (K_c values) are used in conjunction with mathematical models that incorporate …

Soil And Crop Response To Stover Removal From Rainfed And Irrigated Corn, Ian Kenney, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Deann R. Presley, Charles W. Rice, Keith Janssen, Brian Olson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Excessive corn (Zea mays L.) stover removal for biofuel and other uses may adversely impact soil and crop production. We assessed the effects of stover removal at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% from continuous corn on water erosion, corn yield, and related soil properties during a 3-year study under irrigated and no-tillage management practice on a Ulysses silt loam at Colby, irrigated and strip till management practice on a Hugoton loam at Hugoton, and rainfed and no-tillage management practice on a Woodson silt loam at Ottawa in Kansas, USA. The slope of each soil was <1%. One year after removal, complete (100%) stover removal resulted in increased losses of sediment by 0.36–0.47 Mg ha-1 at the irrigated sites, but, at the rainfed site, removal at rates as low as 50% resulted in increased sediment loss by 0.30 Mg ha-1 and sediment-associated carbon (C) by 0.29 kg ha-1. Complete stover removal reduced wet aggregate stability of the soil at the irrigated sites in the first year after removal, but, at the rainfed site, wet aggregate stability was reduced in all years. Stover removal at rates ≥ 50%resulted in reduced soil water content, increased soil temperature in summer by 3.5–6.8 °C, and reduced tem-perature in winter by about 0.5 °C. Soil C pool tended to decrease and crop yields tended to increase with an increase in stover removal, but 3 years after removal, differences were not significant. Overall, stover removal at rates ≥50% may enhance grain yield but may increase risks of water erosion and negatively affect soil water and temperature regimes in this region.

Large-Scale Dryland Cropping Systems, A. Schlegel

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A large-scale dryland cropping systems research and demonstration project at the Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, Kansas, evaluated two summer crops (corn and grain sorghum) along with winter wheat in crop rotations varying in length from 1 to 4 years. The rotations were continuous grain sorghum, wheat-fallow, wheat-corn-fallow, wheat-sorghum-fallow, wheat-corn-sorghum-fallow, and wheatsorghum- corn-fallow. The objective of the study is to identify cropping systems that enhance and stabilize production in rain-fed locations to optimize economic crop production. Averaged across the past 7 years, wheat yields ranged from 22 to 25 bu/a and were not affected by length of rotation. Corn and …

Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilization Of Irrigated Corn, A. Schlegel, H. D. Bond

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

(Abstract only. Link to: http://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr/vol1/iss3/7/)
Article is nearly identical to Long-Term Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization of Irrigated Corn, previously published in Kansas Fertilizer Research 2015, included in this PDF.

Long-term research shows that phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer must be applied to optimize production of irrigated corn in western Kansas. In 2014, N applied alone increased yields 58 bu/a, whereas P applied alone increased yields only 12 bu/a. Nitrogen and P applied together increased yields up to 152 bu/a. This is slightly above the 10-year average, when N and P fertilization increased corn yields up to 146 bu/a. Application …

Response Of Drought Tolerant And Conventional Corn To Limited Irrigation, I. Kisekka, F. Lamm, J. D. Holman

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

With declining water levels in the Ogallala aquifer, many wells cannot supply peak irrigation water needs for corn. Emerging drought-tolerant (DT) corn hybrids could help farmers maintain yield with limited capacity wells. A knowledge gap exists comparing transgenic DT and conventional corn hybrids in yield response to water level. The purpose of this study was to compare yield, yield components, water productivity, and irrigation water use efficiency response of DT corn with cspB (DKC 6267 DGVT- 2PRO) transgene trait and conventional corn hybrid (DKC 62-98 VT2PRO) with similar maturity to full and limited irrigation. Preliminary results from the 2014 growing …

Grain Sorghum Yield Response To Water Availability, J. P. Broeckelman, E. A. Adee, G. J. Kluitenberg, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Yield effects of irrigation on sorghum and corn were compared, but this report is merely focused on the sorghum phase of the crop rotation. Mean yield for irrigated sorghum was 168 bu/a, whereas dryland yield was 145 bu/a. The latter represents a yield improvement of 24 bu/a, an increase of approximately 2 bu/a per unit (in.) of water applied (considering a total of 11 in. of water applied in the irrigation block).

The irrigated sorghum used a mean of 7.8 in. more water than the dryland, which suggests that the dryland sorghum consumed 3.4 in. more water from the soil …

Grain Sorghum Yield Response To Water Availability, J. P. Broeckelman, G. J. Kluitenberg, K. Roozeboom, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Yield effects of irrigation on sorghum and corn were compared, focusing only on the grain sorghum phase. Average water use for irrigation was 22 in., and dryland sorghum used 17 in. Average yields based on 12.5% grain moisture for dryland and irrigated sorghum were similar, with 138 bu/a for the irrigated and 142 bu/a for the dryland environment. Irrigated sorghum yields were similar, but in dryland, the Pioneer 84G62 hybrid yielded 149 bu/a, a 10 bu/a increase over Pioneer 84Y50 and DKS 53-67 hybrids, which yielded 139 bu/a and 138 bu/a, respectively. Although there was a difference in the yield …

Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilization Of Irrigated Grain Sorghum, A. Schlegel, H. D. Bond

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

(Abstract only. Link to:http://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr/vol1/iss3/6/) Article is nearly identical to
Long-Term Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization of Irrigated Grain Sorghum, previously published in Kansas Fertilizer Research 2015, included in this PDF.

Long-term research shows that phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer must be applied to optimize production of irrigated grain sorghum in western Kansas. In 2014, N applied alone increased yields 49 bu/a, whereas N and P applied together increased yields up to 81 bu/a. Averaged across the past 10 years, N and P fertilization increased sorghum yields up to 73 bu/a. Application of 40 lb/a N (with P) was …