Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Excavated Tanks (Farm Dams), Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Guidelines and information for planning, legal requirements, design, construction and management of excavated tanks for water storage on farm.

Excavated tanks (farm dams) provide effective water storage wherever surface water run-off can be harvested for livestock, crop spraying, irrigation and domestic use on rural properties.

Excavated tanks for rainfall storage are common in the southern agricultural areas of WA.

Well-designed and constructed dams are farm assets, safe and require little maintenance.

Poor design and construction can lead to poor water harvesting and storage, excessive costs, downstream erosion and risks to property and people.

DPIRD recommends that excavated tanks should be …

Assessing Soil Properties & Suitability For Optimized Irrigation Development In Sudan, Northern Africa, Suhib O. Hamid

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Masters Project Reports

In Chapter 1, soil properties essential for efficient irrigation are thoroughly assessed. Factors such as soil texture, infiltration rates, and nutrient content are analyzed to provide insights into the selection of modern irrigation systems. Utilizing data collected from 3,192 locations through GPS and laboratory analyses, alongside sophisticated ranking systems, the research determines the most suitable irrigation methods for specific soil series. Findings highlight the remarkable efficiency of drip irrigation across various soil types, contrasting with the consistently lower performance of surface irrigation. The chapter emphasizes the significance of considering soil variability, evapotranspiration, and investment factors in selecting irrigation methods for …

Integration Of Matlab And Machine Learning To Accelerate Evaluation Of Biological Activity In Agricultural Soils And Promote Soil Health Improvement Goals, Andrew Stiven Ortiz Balsero

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditionally, assessments of soil biological activity have been confined to laboratory settings, creating a disconnect with practical in-field methods. To bridge this gap, cotton fabric degradation has been used to illustrate soil microbial activity under different management practices. While effective, these demonstrations are subjective and labor-intensive.

Researchers have explored using image processing software like ImageJ and Adobe Photoshop to streamline this process. Although these tools accurately quantified fabric degradation under varying soil conditions, the methods remained labor-intensive and complex. Consequently, these methods were still not ideal for on-farm use by agricultural practitioners.

To further address labor and complexity limitations, the …

Assessing Soil Properties For Optimized Irrigation Development In Sudan, Northern Africa, Suhib Hamid, Derek M. Heeren, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Saleh Taghvaeian, Randall S. Ritzema

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Sustainable irrigation methods maximize agricultural productivity in Northern African countries like Sudan. This project evaluates soil properties to develop optimized irrigation strategies for Sudan's arid and semi-arid climate. Assessing soil characteristics such as texture, infiltration rates, and nutrient content informs the selection of modern irrigation systems. Data from 3,192 locations, collected using GPS and ring infiltrometers for infiltration rates, alongside laboratory analyses for soil properties, were employed. A ranking system determined suitable irrigation systems for specific soil classes, considering factors like slope, wind, crop tolerance, available water capacity (AWC), drainage, germination, capital cost, labor cost, maintenance, and evapotranspiration (ET). The …

Microwave Emission Model Parameter Tuning For Surface Soil Moisture Retrieval Using Uav-Mounted Dual Polarization L-Band Radiometer, Santiago Hoyos Echeverri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Surface soil moisture retrieval from L-band brightness temperature has been developed for the past decades due to multiple beneficial characteristics of 1-2 GHz frequency bands for remote sensing of the environment. Numerous microwave emission models have been proposed for tower and satellite-based operations with successful retrieval of surface soil moisture and vegetation water content. As a result of the development of cost-effective and low-mass microwave L-band radiometers such as the Portable L-band Radiometer (PoLRa), surface soil moisture surveying traditionally developed by satellite missions SMOS and SMAP can now be developed at local scales, bringing these operations to commercial small unmanned …

Soil Nitrate Prediction Using Ftir-Atr, Vis-Nir, And Raman Spectroscopy, Sabiha Ferdous

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with Attenuated total reflectance (ATR), Visible-Near Infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIR), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) are non-destructive techniques for rapid determination of nitrogen compounds in soil. Leveraging FTIR-ATR and Vis-NIR spectra using partial least squares regression (PLSR) modeling, the study aims to predict soil nitrate content and explored the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy to detect nitrate (NO₃^-), nitrite (NO₂^-), and ammonium (NH₄⁺) in soil. Soil samples were collected from four different fields, dried, sieved (2mm), and then used for collecting spectra (FTIR-ATR and Vis-NIR). Laboratory analysis was …

Assessing How Long-Term Conservation Agricultural Practices Impact Soil Properties And Soil, Water, And Nutrient Dynamics Through Soil Profile, Ajoy Kumar Saha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of Lignin-Based Superabsorbent Polymers (Hydrogels) For Soil Water Management And As A Carrier For Delivering Rhizobium Spp., Toby Adjuik

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Superabsorbent polymers (hydrogels) as soil amendments may improve soil hydraulic properties and act as carrier materials beneficial to soil microorganisms. Researchers have mostly explored synthetic hydrogels which may not be environmentally sustainable. This dissertation focused on the development and application of lignin-based hydrogels as sustainable soil amendments. This dissertation also explores the development of pedotransfer transfer functions (PTFs) for predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity using statistical and machine learning methods with a publicly available large data set. A lignin-based hydrogel was synthesized, and its impact on soil water retention was determined in silt loam and loamy fine sand soils. Hydrogel treatment …

Assessing Machine Learning Utility In Predicting Hydrologic And Nitrate Dynamics In Karst Agroecosystems, Timothy Mcgill

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Seasonal hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and harmful algal blooms experienced in many inland freshwater bodies is partially driven due to excessive nitrogen loading seen from agricultural watersheds. Within the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin, many areas are underlain with karst features, and efforts to reduce nitrogen contributions from these areas have had varying success, due to lacking a complete understanding of nutrient dynamics in karst agricultural systems. To improve the understanding of nitrogen cycling in these systems, 35 months of high resolution in situ water quality and atmospheric data were collected and fed into a two-hidden layer extreme learning machine …

Nematode Populations As Affected By Residue And Water Management In A Long-Term Wheat-Soybean Double Crop In Eastern Arkansas, Lucia Emperatriz Escalante Ortiz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybeans (Glycine max) are one of the major row crops in the United States, particularly in Arkansas. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycines) and southern root-knot nematode (RKN, Meloidogyne incognita) are two of the most damaging pests that cause major economic losses in soybeans. Little is known concerning the effects of common and alternative agronomic practices on nematodes in fields with nematode population densities below threshold levels. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the combination of tillage (conventional tillage and no-tillage), irrigation (irrigated and non-irrigated), wheat (Triticum aestivum) residue burning (burned and no burned), …

Three-Dimensional Modeling Of Nitrate-N Transport In Vadose Zone: Roles Of Soil Heterogeneity And Groundwater Flux, Simin Akbariyeh, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Xu Li, Zhenghong Tang, Yusong Li

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Contamination of groundwater from nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural lands is an important environmental and water quality management issue. It is well recognized that in agriculturally intensive areas, fertilizers and pesticides may leach through the vadose zone and eventually reach groundwater. While numerical models are commonly used to simulate fate and transport of agricultural contaminants, few models have considered a controlled field work to investigate the influence of soil heterogeneity and groundwater flow on nitrate-N distribution in both root zone and deep vadose zone.

In this work, a numerical model was developed to simulate nitrate-N transport and transformation beneath a center …

Reducing Equifinality Using Isotopes In A Process-Based Stream Nitrogen Model Highlights The Flux Of Algal Nitrogen From Agricultural Streams, William I. Ford, James F. Fox, Erik Pollock

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The fate of bioavailable nitrogen species transported through agricultural landscapes remains highly uncertain given complexities of measuring fluxes impacting the fluvial N cycle. We present and test a new numerical model named Technology for Removable Annual Nitrogen in Streams For Ecosystem Restoration (TRANSFER), which aims to reduce model uncertainty due to erroneous parameterization, i.e., equifinality, in stream nitrogen cycle assessment and quantify the significance of transient and permanent removal pathways. TRANSFER couples nitrogen elemental and stable isotope mass‐balance equations with existing hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment transport, algal biomass, and sediment organic …

Effects Of Biochar Treatment Of Municipal Biosolids And Horse Manure On Quality Of Runoff From Fescue Plots, Rachel Williams, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Land-applied horse manure and municipal biosolids can increase nutrient and bacteria concentrations in runoff. Biochar has been demonstrated to have beneficial impacts on nutrient retention and runoff quality when used to treat other land-applied organic soil amendments (e.g., poultry manure). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of biochar addition to horse manure and municipal biosolids on runoff concentrations of nutrients and fecal coliforms. Biochar was added at 5% to 8% (wet basis) to horse manure and biosolids that were applied to 2.4 m x 6.1 m fescue plots followed by application of simulated rainfall (102 mm …

A Method For Reflectance Index Wavelength Selection From Moisture-Controlled Soil And Crop Residue Samples, Ali Hamidisepehr, Michael P. Sama, Aaron P. Turner, Ole O. Wendroth

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Reflectance indices are a method for reducing the dimensionality of spectral measurements used to quantify material properties. Choosing the optimal wavelengths for developing an index based on a given material and property of interest is made difficult by the large number of wavelengths typically available to choose from and the lack of homogeneity when remotely sensing agricultural materials. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using a low-cost method for sensing the moisture content of background materials in traditional crop remote sensing. Moisture-controlled soil and wheat stalk residue samples were measured at varying heights using a reflectance probe connected …

Effects Of Chemical Amendments To Swine Manure On Runoff Quality, Elizabeth L. Bullock, Dwayne R. Edwards, Phillip A. Moore Jr., Richard S. Gates

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Land-applied swine manure can be an environmental concern when runoff losses of manure constituents occur. The use of chemical amendments to mitigate these losses has been investigated for poultry litter, but materials such as swine manure have received less attention in this context, particularly at the plot scale or larger. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the impacts of aluminum sulfate (alum; Al₂(SO₄)₃), aluminum chloride (AlCl₃), and ferric chloride (FeCl₃) addition on runoff of selected constituents of land-applied swine manure. Manure was collected from feeder pigs fed a …

Climate Change Impact Assessments Using The Water Erosion Prediction Project Model, Joseph Trotochaud

Open Access Theses

This study was conducted to develop a simplified method of obtaining future climate data inputs for natural resource models and apply that method to three locations within the continental United States to assess the effect of climate change on soil erosion, runoff, and fire risk. A method was developed for quickly obtaining future climate data over a wide range of scenarios, General Circulation Models (GCMs), and timescales from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) and Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) model families using the MarkSim^® DSSAT Weather Generator and a Microsoft Excel VBA Macro, the …

2013-2014 Kentucky & Tennessee Tobacco Production Guide, Kenneth W. Seebold, Robert C. Pearce, William A. Bailey, Lowell P. Bush, Jonathan D. Green, Robert D. Miller, Laura A. Powers, William M. Snell, Lee H. Townsend, Mark Purschwitz, Larry G. Wells, John H. Wilhoit, Margarita Velandia, Steve Bost, Gene Burgess, Frank Hale, Darrell Hensley, Paul Denton, Neil Rhodes

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Tobacco growers in Kentucky and Tennessee have faced many challenges during the past two years, including weather, labor availability, and rising production costs. However, there have been opportunities as well. Some buying stations have closed or moved, but new buyers have come into the market and contract volumes have been stable overall. Good quality burley tobacco is in relatively short supply, and this has offered opportunities to those who have been able to overcome weather and labor challenges and produce good crops. These changes have had different impacts in different regions of both states, based largely on where buying stations …

Observations Of Localised Effects Of The Busselton Compensating Basins On Surface Water, Groundwater And Soil Salinity, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

Between 2001 and 2009 the Water Corporation constructed three flood-compensating basins on farmland in the Vasse and Sabina river catchments, upstream of in the city of Busselton. The basins are designed to reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas of Busselton by temporarily storing and then regulating runoff during flood events. This report fulfils the reporting requirements of a contract between the Water Corporation and the Department of Agriculture and Food. Data relating to the local groundwater and surface-water dynamics, salinity, nutrients and pH, plus changes to shallow and deep-soil salinity (from repeat ground-based electromagnetic induction [EM] surveying), was …

Automated System To Improve Levelness Of Reconstructed Soil, Venkata Srikiran Bodapati, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Extraction of coal, ores, and minerals from the earth by surface mining has occurred for many years and has always presented a significant challenge with regard to restoration of productive soil to mined areas. Federal and state regulations require that land should be returned to pre-mine productivity or reclaimed as per specific standards following mining. Excessive compaction of reconstructed soil caused by traffic of heavy earth moving equipment has been an enduring challenge regarding successful restoration of soil. A mechanical system was previously designed and developed to reconstruct soil to a depth of 1.22 m (48 in.) while completely avoiding …

Integration Of An Extended Octagonal Ring Transducer And Soil Coulterometer For Identifying Soil Compaction, Santosh K. Pitla, Larry G. Wells, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The soil coulterometer is an "on-the-go" electro-mechanical system which collects impedance force data at multiple depths using an oscillating coulter. During the initial testing (summer 2006), only vertical soil impedance force data was collected using a pressure sensor. To improve the performance of the coulterometer, an extended octagonal ring transducer was integrated into the system to collect both the horizontal and vertical impedance forces given by the soil. In the summer of 2007, data was collected using the revised sensor from a typical central Kentucky field setting in a 0.8-ha (2-acre) plot. Four passes were made with the coulterometer. Seventy …

The Land Is In Your Hands : A Practical Guide For Owners Of Small Rural Landholdings In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Wa

Bulletins 4000 -

This Bulletin discusses various aspects of managing a small farm or property in Western Australia, including soil and land care, vegetation and plant control on farm holdings, water resource management, biosecurity, plant, animal and insect pest control and livestock management.

Crop Yield Response To Precision Deep Tillage, Larry G. Wells, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Experimental precision deep tillage was applied at three sites in central Kentucky with relatively well-drained silt loam soils in no-till crop production. Fields were divided into 0.4 ha (1 ac) grid cells using DGPS mapping. Assessment of soil compaction by machinery traffic was made using multiple soil cone penetrometer measurements and expressed as cone index (CI). Corn, wheat, and soybean yields were depressed in grid cells with CI_avg ≥ 1.5 MPa (218 psi) prior to application of tillage treatments at sites 1 and 3, whereas at site 2, where most of the highest average CI values ranged from 1.44 …

Mole Drainage For Increased Productivity In The South West Irrigation Area, D L. Bennett, Richard George, Bill Russell

Bulletins 4000 -

Heavy soils, with low rates of soil-water movement, such as those found in the South-West Irrigation Area (SWIA), require closely spaced (2-6 m apart) subsoil drainage systems to provide sufficient water movement to control the effects of salt-waterlogging on pastures. Such close spacing using traditional buried pipe or tile drainage systems is impractical. As a result, mole drainage systems, used in other parts of the world for over 50 years, have gained popularity in the SWIA in recent years.

This Bulletin Farmnote reports the current ‘best-bet’ mole draining technique for SWIA conditions gathered from observations over a number of years …

Evaluation Of A Mechanical System For Reconstructing Soil On Surface Mined Land, John P. Fulton, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The existence of excessive soil compaction has hindered the surface mining industry from returning land to pre−mining productivity after reclamation, especially on prime farmland soils. Heavy earthmoving equipment used during reclamation tends to generate root−limiting bulk densities that adversely affect plant growth thereby decreasing yields. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a mechanism, called the ‘Soil Regenerator,’ which reconstructs soil media at minimum bulk density during surface mine reclamation. The prototype soil forming mechanism was mounted on the front of a conventional bulldozer. Soil was placed in long narrow windrows by a scraper or bulldozer. As the …

A Mechanical System For Soil Reconstruction, John Patrick Fulton, Larry G. Wells, Timothy D. Smith

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the most perplexing problems associated with reclaiming surface–mined lands is excessive compaction of soil due to the heavy earthmoving equipment used during the reclamation process. Over the years, some innovative material handling schemes have been devised to limit vehicle traffic during reclamation on reconstructed soil. However, final grading operations can often create root–limiting bulk densities, which affect plant growth and yield. The purpose of this article is to describe a mechanism designed at the University of Kentucky whereby mine soil can be reconstructed without introducing compaction caused by surface traffic in order for the soil to sustain desirable …

A Portable Rainfall Simulator For Plot–Scale Runoff Studies, J. Byron Humphry, Tommy C. Daniel, Dwayne R. Edwards, Andrew N. Sharpley

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Rainfall simulators have a long history of successful use in both laboratory and field investigations. Many plot–scale simulators, however, have been difficult to operate and transport in the field, especially in remote locations where water or electricity is unavailable. This article describes a new rainfall simulator that is relatively easy to operate and transport to and from the field while maintaining critical intensity, distribution, and energy characteristics of natural rainfall. The simulator frame is constructed from lightweight aluminum pipe with a single 50 WSQ nozzle centered at a height of 3 m (9.8 ft). An operating nozzle pressure of 28 …

Monitoring Subsurface Drainage Flow At Remote Locations, Stephen R. Workman, Stephen F. Higgins, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Laboratory evaluations and field results are presented for a slotted weir used to measure discharge from subsurface drains. The head–discharge curve for the vertical slot is a simple power function with an exponent of 1.5. There was excellent agreement (r² > 0.99 and 1:1 slope) between predicted and observed discharge in laboratory testing of 12 test weirs representing five slot widths. The primary advantages of the vertical slot weir are its simplicity, ease of maintenance, and ability to measure small flow rates. Disadvantages include a tendency for the slot to close a small amount over time as a result of …

Determining Matric Stress With The Modified Cam Clay Energy Relationship, Richard A. Rohlf, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The stress generated by matric suction, or matric stress, was determined at points along the stress path with an analytical and experimental procedure based on the modified Cam clay energy relationship. Matric stress was found to be approximately constant at large strain for constant water content triaxial compression tests. Matric stress was included in both shear and volume relationships in a critical–state soil model that employed the modified Cam clay yield function. Shear was modeled with a constant matric stress. Slope of the normal compression and recompression lines was adjusted for matric stress using a state function that expressed matric …

Comparing Size In Lime, Mark Whitten

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Extensive research into the management of soil acidity in Western Australia is increasing farmer awareness that lime use can reduce soil acidity and improve crop yields. However, as lime use increases, the question of lime performance and particle size is becoming more critical. Chris Gazey from the Department of Agriculture is heading up the soil acidity project, with the team comprising members from the department, CSIRO and the University of Western Australia. Mark Whitten reports on project outcomes relating to lime particle size.

Evaporation Reduction Potential In An Undisturbed Soil Irrigated With Surface Drip And Sand Tube Irrigation, Masoud Meshkat, Richard C. Warner, Stephen R. Workman

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The efficiency of drip irrigation is highly dependent on evaporation losses occurring from the constantly saturated soil beneath emitters. Advent of subsurface drip irrigation is in part an approach to curb this inefficiency. An irrigation method, Sand Tube Irrigation (STI), is proposed to increase the efficiency of “Normal” surface applied drip Irrigation (NI method) on permanent tree crops without the need for burying the irrigation tubing. The sand tube consists of removing a soil core beneath the emitter and filling the void with coarse sand. A weighing lysimeter was constructed in the laboratory and instrumented to directly measure temporal evaporation …