Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Direct Drilling Forage Maize Into Dairy Pastures In South-Eastern Australia, K E. Pritchard

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Forage maize (Zea mays) was planted directly into uncultivated dairy pastures after desiccation. A planter specially developed for this purpose, which used coulters, tynes and narrow rotary hoes to place fertiliser and seed precisely, achieved excellent crop establishment in dense red­brown earth soils. Yields were up to 22.7 t of dry matter/ha, similar to that of cultivated seedbeds with flood irrigation and 10% less than with furrow irrigation. Key agronomic requirements for success were a specialised planter, good surface drainage, adequate pre- and post­planting weed control and a requirement for early application of irrigation water and nitrogen fertiliser. …

Salinity Tolerance Of Turf And Forage Grasses, R C. Mckenzie, H G. Najda, J R. King

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

There are over 1.2 million ha of cultivated saline land in the province of Alberta, Canada. Our experiment's objectives were to develop reliable recommendations under field conditions of the salinity tolerance of various grasses. Information on how salinity levels influence the growth of grasses under field conditions would provide better management options for forage production. An irrigated site was established at Brooks and a dryland site at Hanna, Alberta. Twenty-five species are being evaluated under irrigation and I 9 under dry land using a randomised block design, Forage yields indicate that tall wheatgrass (Elytrigia pontica), Dahurian wildrye (Elymus …

Constraints And Opportunities For Turkish Grasslands Use Patterns And The Expected Development Of Forage Crops, With The South-Eastern Anatolian Project (Gap) In Turkey, T Tukel, T Saglamtimur, H Gulcan, V Tansi, A E. Anlarsal

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Turkey has 78 million ha land area. Of this, about 28% covers permanent grasslands, 36% arable land, and 30% forest and woodlands. Mainly, ii has a typical mediterranean climate but with regional differences. In general, Turkish grasslands are continuously being overutilised. There are 3 utilisation systems called sedentary, transhumance and nomadic. Each not only has its constraints but also some rational use under special situations. Intensive feeding programmes with high yielding and quality forage crops are also being encouraged. Recently, a national project, the south-eastern Anatolian Project (GAP in Turkish), is proceeding in the form of a big regional development. …

The Value Of Adapted, Annual Ryegrasses For Subtropical Dairy Production, K F. Lowe, T M. Bowdler, G K. Reason, R J. Moss

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Cutting and grazing experiments were conducted in a subtropical environment to determine whether a relationship existed between differences measured in ryegrass cultivars from cutting experiments and milk production differences under grazing. Differences in dry mauer (OM) production under cutting between the standard annual ryegrass for the subtropics (Grasslands Tama) and a cultivar selected for superior performance under subtropical conditions (Midmar) averaged 31 %, differences in feed on offer under grazing averaged 21 %, while milk production differences averaged 10% in a 2-year study. The results indicate that increases in OM yield measured in cutting experiments will be consistent wlth differences …

Soil Additives And Alternative Crops For Drought Defense In The Intermountain West, Tina M. Sullivan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Western U.S. looks for water optimization and conservation as agriculture is the largest water diverter, and resources are pressured by urban growth, winter snowpack instability, and drought persistence. Agricultural producers have several potential options to optimize water use with different investments associated with them. Options with varying levels of risks and known management practices include alternative crops, soil wetting agents, and crop biologicals.

An alternative crop that grew incredibly fast in popularity was industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) despite limited agronomic knowledge for best management practices. Field trials occurred (2020-2022) near Logan, UT to test a total of …

Comparison Of Yield, Forage Quality And Persistence Of 11 Grasses Grown With Irrigation In A Semi-Arid Climate, D E. Glover, G A. Kielly, R H. Cohen, P G. Jefferson

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Nutritive quality of many grass species used for forage in the Northern Great Plains of Canada and the United States is not well documented, especially at different maturity stages. This study compared agronomic and forage quality characteristics of eleven grasses common to Saskatchewan. Botanical separation and quality analysis was undertaken at three growth stages. Meadow Brome (Bromus riparius), Russian Wildrye (Psathyrostachys juceus) and Altai Wildrye (Elymus angustus) were shown to have high leaf to stem ratios which corresponded with high protein levels. Separations showed persistence of Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arudinaceus), Creeping Foxtail …

Production Efficiency Benchmarks For Irrigated Dairying In South Eastern Australia, K E. Pritchard, O A. Gyles, D P. Armstrong, S L. Spiteri

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Milk production from grazed irrigated pasture is an important industry in south eastern Australia. Irrigation water is essential for perennial pastures, but the efficiency with which the irrigation water is used to produce milk varies widely between farms. As irrigation water is a limiting resource, future productivity increases will depend on increasing the amount of milk produced per unit of water applied. This research project estimates metabolisable energy utilised from grazed pasture, using energy values for animal requirements, products and feedstuffs. Efficiency criteria, in terms of production per hectare of irrigated pasture, per megalitre of irrigation water, and per cow …

A Comparative Analysis Of Openet For Evaluating Evapotranspiration In California Almond Orchards, Kyle Knipper, Martha Anderson, Nicholas Bambach, Forrest Melton, Zac Ellis, Yun Yang, John Volk, Andrew J. Mcelrone, William Kustas, Matthew Roby, Will Carrara, Sebastian Castro, Ayse Kilic, Joshua B. Fisher, Anderson Ruhoff, Gabriel B. Senay, Charles Morton, Sebastian Saa, Richard G. Allen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The almond industry in California faces water management challenges that are being exacerbated by droughts, climate change, and groundwater sustainability legislation. The Tree-crop Remote sensing of Evapotranspiration eXperiment (T-REX) aims to explore opportunities to improve precision irrigation management for woody perennial cropping systems. Almond orchards in the California Central Valley were equipped with eddy covariance flux measurements to evaluate satellite remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (RSET) models. OpenET provides high-resolution (30-m spatial and daily temporal) RSET data, synthesizing decades of research for practical water management. This study provides an evaluation of OpenET performance at six almond sites covering a large range in …

Monitoring The Stabilization Of Semi-Arid Grassland In The Bridge Creek Watershed Of Central Oregon, R Demmer, L Andrews, B Keller

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Using land exchanges the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in central Oregon consolidated its land base in the Bridge Creek Watershed between 1987 and 1992 to obtain a 64,500 acre land block. The uplands had been grazed and the valley bottoms farmed since the middle 1800s. Due to improper grazing, primitive irrigation, fire suppression and juniper invasion, the native vegetation was sparse. Weeds were ubiquitous, and soils were eroded. The results of actions taken after baseline inventories of riparian and range communities were monitored. This feedback prompted further actions. Monitoring confirms that increasing native vegetation and decreasing erosion is stabilizing …

Yield Formation And Changes In Quality In Legume-Grass Mixtures As Affected By N-Fertilization, Irrigation And Grass Species, K Richter, K Schmaler

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In the years of 1984 to 1992 field experiments have been conducted with different legume-grass mixtures at a location in north-east Germany. Dry matter yield, crude protein and crude fibre content in legume-grass mixtures changed by N-fertilization, grass species, duration of utilization and irrigation. First this was caused by the effect of these factors on yield proportion. The variation of N-fertilization and irrigation influenced red clover grown in a mixture with grass more than lucerne-grass mixture. Irrigation of red clover-grass mixture supported the yield proportion of legume whereas N-fertilization and duration of utilization supported the grass species. Yield proportion, crude …

Effect Of Irrigation And Nitrogen Fertilization On Ryegrass And Ryegrass/ White Clover Swards, C J. Escuder, C A. Cangiano

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

An experiment to determine nitrogen and water effect on dry matter yield of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L) in mixtures with white clover (Trifolium repens L) and pure ryegrass pastures was carried out during two years at Balcarce, the Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Two levels of irrigation, natural rainfall and 20 mm irrigation when needed, and four levels of nitrogen fertilization 0; 150; 300; and 450 kg N.ha-1.yr were applied. During the first year it was necessary to apply 250 mm of supplementary water to the irrigated plots, while 530 mm were needed the second year. Nitrogen responses …

Influence Of Five Cutting Frequencies On The Production Of Medicago Sativa Cultivars In The Boland Of South Africa, T Oberholzer, J M. Van Heerden

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The use of fixed interval cutting management for lucerne was studied for four cultivars (CUF101, Condor, SA Standard and Alfagraze) of four dormancy classes. Five fixed cutting intervals ranging from two to ten weeks were imposed for three years on irrigated stands at Elsenburg Research Station in the Boland of South Africa. The experimental design was a 4 by 5 split-plot randomised block with three replications. The four main plots were four cultivars split into five subplots containing five cutting treatments. The more winter dormant cultivar, Alfagraze, was least sensitive to cutting frequency and relatively more productive than the other …

Spatial Targeting Of Irrigation Development And Water Resource Management To Mitigate Vector-Borne Disease, April Frake, Brad Peter, Grivin Chipula, Joseph Messina

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scaling irrigated agriculture is a global strategy to mitigate food insecurity concerns. While expanding irrigated agriculture is critical to meeting food production demands, it is important to consider how these land use and land cover changes (LULCC) may alter the water resources of landscapes and impact the spatiotemporal epidemiology of disease. Here, a generalizable method is presented to inform irrigation development decision-making aimed at increasing crop production through irrigation while simultaneously mitigating malaria risk to surrounding communities. Changes to the spatiotemporal patterns of malaria vector (Anopheles gambiae s.s.) suitability, driven by irrigated agricultural expansion, are presented for Malawi's rainy and …

Water-Energy-Food Linkages In Community Smallholder Irrigation Schemes: Center Pivot Irrigation In Rwanda, Ankit Chandra, Derek M. Heeren, Lameck O. Odhiambo, N. Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Water, energy, and food are linked in intricate ways in irrigated agriculture and understanding the interplay of these components is crucial for sustainable and profitable crop production, particularly in smallholder setting such as in sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluates water-energy-food linkages, engineering and economic performance, irrigation decision making, and challenges faced around water management in a community-based mechanized irrigation scheme in Rwanda. The research is the first to analyze such as scheme, which uses technology typically used by large farmers in a smallholder setting. The study investigates the variation in water requirements and the relationship and impacts of this variability …

Potential For Forecasting Uk Summer Grass Growth From The North Atlantic Oscillation, P. S. Kettlewell, J. Easey, P. D. Hollins, T. Martyn, D. B. Stephenson

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern which is well-known to influence the UK winter climate (Wilby et al., 1997). Recently, it has been shown that the winter NAO also affects summer rainfall in the UK (Kettlewell et al., 2003). Since water supply is an important limitation to summer grass growth in many parts of the UK, the winter NAO may influence summer growth. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the winter NAO and summer grass growth using data from reference plots at North …

Carbon Sequestration In Irrigated Pastures, Glenn E. Shewmaker, J. A. Entry, R. E. Sojka

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Carbon sequestration potential for irrigated grazing lands is significant. We measured organic and inorganic C stored in southern Idaho soils having long-term land use histories that supported native sagebrush vegetation (NSB), irrigated pasture systems (IP), irrigated conservation tillage sites (ICT), and irrigated moldboard plowing systems (IMP). This study estimates the amount of possible organic, inorganic and total C sequestration if irrigated pasture land was expanded by 10%.

Downstream Hydrochemistry And Irrigation Water Quality Of The Syr Darya, Aral Sea Basin, South Kazakhstan, Bagdat Satybaldiyev, Baimurat Ismailov, Nurbek Nurpeisov, Kairat Kenges, Daniel D. Snow, Arindam Malakar, Omirzhan Taukebayev, Bolat Uralbekov

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

New hydrochemical measurements from the Syr Darya provide insights into factors affecting the composition and quality of a major freshwater source replenishing the Aral Sea. This river is heavily used for power and irrigation and crosses territories of four Central Asia republics. It is intensely managed, draining several major tributaries, many reservoirs, and numerous irrigation distribution systems and canals. Analysis of seasonal changes in dissolved ion concentrations using geochemical diagrams, elemental ratios, statistical correlation, and equilibrium modeling allowed the characterization of mineral formation processes that control the dissolved chemical composition. Measured water hydrochemistry and composition type differs substantially from previous …

Practical Improvements For Pivot And Surface Irrigation, Jonathan A. Holt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Irrigation is critical to meeting global food and fiber demands. Optimizing agricultural irrigation may help sustain production levels, while reducing its demand for water. This research evaluated precision sprinklers and drip irrigation for pivots, five pivot track mitigation tools, three scientific irrigation scheduling (SIS) methods, sensors for surface irrigation cutoff, and automating surface systems to implement surge irrigation. With pivots and surface irrigation being the most common methods for irrigation in the West, small improvements from these tools could result in significant water savings.

Low energy precision application (LEPA) sprinklers and mobile drip irrigation (MDI) were tested on two pivots. …

Potential Yield Of Cocksfoot (Dactylis Glomerata) Monocultures In Response To Irrigation And Nitrogen, A. Mills, D. J. Moot, R. L. Lucas, P. D. Jamieson, B. A. Mckenzie

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Cocksfoot is a widely sown grass in temperate pastures. However, while potential yield of cocksfoot can exceed 28 t DM/ha per year, it is often restricted by water, temperature and nitrogen (N). Of these, Peri et al. (2002) showed that N was severely limiting in all seasons. The aim of this study was to confirm the potential yield of cocksfoot and quantify the extent of yield reductions due to environmental constraints.

Water Resources, Agriculture And Pasture: Implications Of Growing Demand And Increasing Scarcity, M. W. Rosegrant, R. A. Valmonte-Santos, S. A. Cline, C. Ringler, W. Li

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. Water availability for irrigation is threatened in many regions by rapidly increasing demand for nonagricultural water uses in industry, households, and the environment. The scarcity of irrigation water will not only impact crop production, but also meat production, as much of the pasture used to feed livestock is irrigated.
2. Grassland is caught between two countervailing forces: a requirement for increasing meat demand that boosts the need for additional pasture to support livestock production, and rapidly increasing water scarcity that makes pasture irrigation uneconomical.
3. The most effective means of dealing with water scarcity is likely to be conserving water in existing …

Soil Aggregate Dynamics, Particulate Organic Matter And Phosphate Under Dryland And Irrigated Pasture, J. T. Scott, L. M. Condron, R. W. Mcdowell

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Soil aggregate formation and turnover affects the rate of occlusion or release of soil organic matter and therefore the availability for mineralisation or stabilisation of soil carbon (C) and phosphorus (P). Furthermore, differences in soil type, management and the quantity and quality of organic inputs can affect aggregate turnover rates (Six et al., 2000). Under pastoral farming the ratio of coarse particulate organic matter (inter-POM) inside macroaggregates but outside microaggregates to fine POM (intra-POM) within microaggregates may provide an indication of physical processes influencing mineralisation and stabilisation of soil C and organic P (Po). Our aim was to determine …

Irrigation Decisions In Response To Groundwater Salinity In Kansas, Juhee Lee, Nathan P. Hendricks

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding the interaction between groundwater salinity and irrigation decision making has important implications for groundwater management. Econometrics models were estimated using observed farmer behavior in response to different groundwater salinity levels in a region of Kansas. Estimation results demonstrate that farmers in the face of groundwater salinity change their irrigation decisions on irrigated acreage (i.e., extensive margin), crop choice (i.e., indirect intensive margin), and water application depth (i.e., direct intensive margin). The empirical results indicate an overall decrease in water use due to higher salinity, primarily through a decrease at the extensive margin.

Analysis Of Soil Change Across Nebraska, Trinity Baker

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The world’s population is growing and an increasing populace requires more resources. These requirements place increasing pressure on the environment and the soil. Soils serve many important functions throughout the world. These functions range from offering a media for food production, providing a sink for organic carbon, nutrient cycling, and improving water quality. It is important to focus on the human impact on soils and their change over time.

For my research I examined how soils across Nebraska have changed over a time period of roughly 65 years. I sampled and analyzed 39 pedons from four Major Land Resource Areas …

The Effect Of Water Management And Ratoon Rice Cropping On Methane Emissions And Harvest Yield In Arkansas, Marguerita Leavitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable intensification of rice farming is crucial to meeting human food needs while reducing environmental impacts. Rice produces 8% of all anthropogenic CH4, which is a potent greenhouse gas. CH4 emissions can potentially be reduced by cultivation practices that minimize the number of days the fields are saturated, such as dry-seeding instead of water-seeding and irrigation using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique instead of delayed, continuous flooding (DF). Ratoon cropping, wherein a second crop of rice is grown from the harvested stubble of the first crop, can be used to produce additional yield with minimal labor, but may …

Water Resources, Agriculture And Pasture: Implications Of Growing Demand And Increasing Scarcity, M. W. Rosegrant, R. A. Valmonte-Santos, S. A. Cline, C. Ringler, W. Li

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Key points

1. Water availability for irrigation is threatened in many regions by rapidly increasing demand for nonagricultural water uses in industry, households, and the environment. The scarcity of irrigation water will not only impact crop production, but also meat production, as much of the pasture used to feed livestock is irrigated.

2. Grassland is caught between two countervailing forces: a requirement for increasing meat demand that boosts the need for additional pasture to support livestock production, and rapidly increasing water scarcity that makes pasture irrigation uneconomical.

3. The most effective means of dealing with water scarcity is likely to …

Irrigation’S Impact On A Precipitation Event During Grainex In Nebraska, Usa, Daniel Whitesel

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Numerous precipitation events were observed during the Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX). However, the precipitation event that was observed the morning of 23 July 2018 is the focus of this thesis. Six experiments were conducted which involved increasing or decreasing soil moisture by 5% increments over the irrigated cropland. An additional experiment, which changed the irrigated land use to grassland, showed precipitation increases. It was found that regardless of strength of irrigation, average precipitation decreased. Average precipitation decreased by up to 72% when irrigation increased compared to the control simulation and decreased by up to 85% when irrigation decreased compared …

Influence Of Irrigation On Diurnal Mesoscale Circulations: Results From Grainex, C. Phillips, R. Mahmood, R. Pielke Sr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Simulation Of Nitrous Oxide Emissions In Zoysia Turfgrass Using Daycent And Dndc Ecosystem Models, Mu Hong, Yao Zhang, Ross Braun, Dale J. Bremer

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) implicated in global climate change. Process-based ecosystem models, such as DAYCENT and DNDC, have been widely used to predict GHG fluxes in agricultural systems. However, neither model has yet been applied to warm-season turfgrasses such as zoysiagrass. This study parameterized, calibrated, and validated the DAYCENT and DNDC models for N₂O emissions from Meyer zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonicaSteud.) using Bayes’ theorem and field data from Braun and Bremer (2018a, 2019) and Lewis and Bremer (2013). Results indicated DAYCENT, but not DNDC, reasonably simulated the impacts of irrigation …

Use Patterns And Influencing Factors Of Irrigation Best Management Practices In The Lower Mississippi River Basin, Merri E. Day

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the 2016 Irrigation Survey from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to document the use of irrigation best management practices (IBMPs), analyze use patterns, and use quantitative methods to determine factors that influence producers’ decisions regarding IBMPs. IBMPs included in the survey can be grouped as: field management practices (zero-grade leveling, precision-grade leveling, end blocking, warped surface, and deep tillage), water flow control practices (computerized pipe-hole selection, multiple-inlet irrigation, surge irrigation, alternate wetting and drying, cutback irrigation, flow meters, and pump timers), water recovery/storage practices (tail-water recovery system and on-farm storage reservoir), and advanced irrigation scheduling practices (soil moisture …

Comparison Of Summer Forages And The Effect Of Nitrogen Fertilizers On Brassica Forages In Tasmania, A. A. Salardini, R. J. Eckard, D. R. Franks

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Summer forage crops, and in particular Brassica spp., have become increasingly popular in dairy production systems in Tasmania. Field experiments were conducted for 3 years in northwestern Tasmania, in the spring/summers beginning in 1995. The study aimed to compare yield and quality of Brassica and Poaceae forages and the response of Brassica species to nitrogen (N) (50, 100 and 200 kg N/ha) and irrigation.

The average total yields of dryland (rainfed) crops in 1995 to 1997 experiments, were turnip (Brassica rapa) 9.3 t/ha, rape (B. napus) 5.9 t/ha, oats (Aevena sativa) 5.2 t/ha, kale …