Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Major target audiences reached were: farmers, landowners, commodity-specific ag. fieldmen, chemical or fertilizer fieldmen, and agency personnel such as USDA-NRCS, DEQ, etc. 2014-2015: I met one-on-one with farmers in Picabo, Idaho Falls, Ririe and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling. I worked one-on-one with farmers on 6 fields in the Kimberly area with the use of new soil moisture sensor/logger equipment that stored dataon the web for more convenient irrigation scheduling. I worked with farmers in Idaho Falls, Ririe, and Grace on the use of an on-line, water-budget scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile). I presented "New web-access soil moisture sensing/ data logging equipment" at the UI Kimberly R and E Center Pest tour, June 25. About 45 farmers, fieldmen and agency personnel attended. I presented posters: "Real-time Remote Monitoring and Display of Soil Moisture" and "Using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler "Mobile" for Idaho Conditions" at the 2014 UI Twilight Tour, Kimberly. About 500 attended the tour. I presented "Using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler "Mobile" for Idaho Conditions" and "Initiation of Case Studies and Outreach Programs in SE Idaho to Reduce Water Use in Malting Barley" at the Grace SWCD Tour 6/17/14. About 25 farmers, and agency personnel attended. I presented posters: "Using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler "Mobile" for Idaho Conditions" and "Initiation of Case Studies and Outreach Programs in SE Idaho to Reduce Water Use in Malting Barley", at the Anheuser-Busch grower appreciation day, 6/18/14. A number of farmers stopped by the booth 2015-2016: I met one-on-one with farmers in Osgood, Idaho Falls, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling. I worked one-on-one with farmers on 6 fields in the Kimberly area with the use of new soil moisture sensor/logger equipment that stored data on the web for more convenient irrigation scheduling. I worked with farmers in Osgood and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV on the use of an on-line, water-budget scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile), and on using soil moisture sensors and web-based data logger files for irrigation scheduling. I presented "New web-access soil moisture sensing/ data logging equipment" and "using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler" at a number of grower meetings in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. 2016-2017: I met one-on-one with farmers in Osgood, Idaho Falls, Mud Lake, Hazelton, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling. I worked one-on-one with farmers on 9 fields in the Kimberly area with the use of new soil moisture sensor/logger equipment that stored data on the web for more convenient irrigation scheduling. I worked with farmers in Osgood, Mud Lake, Murtaugh, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV on the use of an on-line, waterbudget scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile), and on using soil moisture sensors and web-based data logger files for irrigation scheduling. I presented "New web-access soil moisture sensing/ data logging equipment" and "using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler" at a number of grower meetings in Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. 2017-2018: I met one-on-one with farmers in Osgood, Idaho Falls, Rexburg, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling I worked with farmers in Osgood, Rexburg, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV on the use of an on-line, water budget irrigation scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile), and on using soil moisture sensors and web-based data logger files for irrigation scheduling. I presented "Irrigation Water Management for Potatoes to Minimize Water-stress - Induced Tuber Quality Problems" at the 2018 McCain Grower Meeting- Alberta, I presented "Using Flow Meter Readings to Schedule Irrigation and Determine Remaining Water Supply" at the 2018 "conserving natural resources for our future" irrigation workshop. Eureka, NV, I presented "Using Soil Moisture Sensor Data for Irrigation Scheduling" at the 2018 "conserving natural resources for our future" irrigation workshop. Eureka, NV, and I presented "Irrigation Water Management Update" at the 2018 University of Idaho Cereal Schools at Burley, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Ashton, and Preston. 2018-2019: I presented "Evapotranspiration in Center-Pivot-Irrigate Malting Barley Crops: Critical Timings and Quantity" at the Southern Rocky Mountain Ag. Conference.Monte Vista, CO. I presented "Irrigation Water Management 101" at the USDA-NRCS Soil Health and Irrigation Water Management Workshop. Casper, WY I presented "Soil Moisture Measurement / Irrigation Scheduling" at the USDA-NRCS Soil Health and Irrigation Water Management Workshop. Casper, WY I presented "What is Evapotranspiration and how to Estimate ET?" at the Forage Irrigation Workshop, at the Western Alfalfa & Forage Symposium: Optimizing Yield and Quality in Irrigated Forages. Reno, NV I presented "Pivot Retrofit to LESA: Costs, Benefits and need for better use of ET curves"at the UI Snake River Sugar Beet Conference.Burley, ID Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Irrigation industry personnel, USDA-NRCS personnel, and Electric Utility personnel at all the sites have become more aware of the benefits of these technologies and the parts, techniques, and equipment sources for LESA retrofit and soil water -based irrigation scheduling. With the 2016 experiences, design criterial have been updated. Multi-state farmer and agency personnel education regarding LESA retrofit and soil water sensing/irrigation scheduling methods and equipment, and other related irrigarion topics were presented at 1-day workshops in Burns and Christmas Valley, OR in 2017 and in Prineville, OR in 2019. Instruction was by Dr. Howard Neibling, Extension Management Engineer (ID), Dr.Troy Peters, Extension Irrigation Specialist (WA) and Mylen Bohle, Extension County Faculty (OR) and other OR agency personnel. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This information has been disseminated through field days, winter grower workshops and commodity-specific extension meetings along with commodity commission newsletters, magazine and agricultural newspaper articles What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT Significant portions of food and fiber products in the U.S., and in the world, are produced by irrigated agriculture. Water for irrigation is a limited resource. This has become more evident due to drought conditions that have developed in California, Texas and parts of the Great Plains in the last few years. As a result, water levels in aquifers used as a water source for irrigation are dropping in many areas due to the imbalance between pumping and ground water recharge. Surface water stored as mountain snowpack and used as it melts has also been reduced in a number of areas due to drought. Other competing uses for water are growing as well. The result is less water available for irrigation. Two ways in which irrigation water can be used more efficiently that are addressed by this project are: 1) using the best available irrigation scheduling technology to apply only the amount of water needed by the plants when they need it to grow most productively, and 2) use microirrigation to most efficiently and uniformly deliver irrigation water to the soil to maximize plant growth, yield and quality. Two new irrigation scheduling products which perform well and are more convenient for users, have been tested under Idaho conditions. One type, soil moisture sensors have historically been used by some growers to determine when and how much to irrigate, based on information developed by the University of Idaho and other sources. In the last few years, technology improvements have allowed this information to be transmitted from the field to the user. This provides more convenient, useful "real time" information for better scheduling. The second type, computer-based water balance programs, provide daily estimates of the amount of water available for crop use, and the approximate date and amount of the next irrigation. Improvements in technology here have reduced the required user input and have made the product accessible from any device that can be connected to the web. These two approaches were tested at a number of Idaho sites over the course of this project. The two approaches both worked well and results agreed with respect to when irrigation is needed, and in determining if irrigation amount was excessive. Average reduction in irrigation water applied based only on using soil water sensors for better irrigation scheduling relative to prevailing practice was 16%. Use of subsurface drip irrigation on a center pivot corner near Kuna, Idaho was studied for three years. Results have shown that irrigation water application can be reduced relative to center pivot, and that the technology can be applied on small or add-shaped areas difficult to irrigate for corn production otherwise. Corn silage yield has been comparable to production on the remainder of the farm. However, damage to the drip tape from rodents has been a major problem that must be overcome before large-scale adoption can be achieved. Goal 1:Develop robust and appropriately-scaled methods of irrigation scheduling using one or more soil-, plant- or weather-based approaches. Accomplishment by objective (my work related to only objective 1): Compare irrigation scheduling technologies and develop grower-appropriate scheduling products In 2014-2015, use of LESA pivot technology and accompanying web-available soil water data on 3 paired pivots allowed farmers in Eureka, NV to shut off the LESA pivots one day per week (2015) and 1-2 days/week (2016) and produce alfalfa of equal or greater yield and quality than on an adjacent paired pivot of the same crop, soil and fertility irrigated daily.Similar results (about 15-20% reduction in water applied) were achieved at Malta and Mud Lake, ID and Yreka, CA in both 2015 and 2016. Based on 2015 results, a number of LESA retrofits with soil water sensors were installed in spring, 2016 at Eureka, NV; Mud Lake, ID; and Yreka, CA. Based on 2016-2017 results, a number of additional LESA retrofits were installed at these locations. A USDA-NRCS cost share program to promote water conservation using LESA technology was developed for Eastern Idaho which resulted in over 26 LESA retrofits.Use of soil water sensors or other irrigation scheduling methods is essential to achieve all of the potential water savings from the use of LESA center pivot technology. In 2016, on a study funded by Anheuser-Busch, one span of LESA technology with irrigation scheduling by soil water sensors and web-connected data loggers was installed on center pivots of malting barley near Rexburg, Osgood and Hazelton, Idaho. An additional LESA span on a linear-move system of potatoes was installed near Rexburg. At each site, the LESA span was designed to apply the same irrigation depth as the adjacent existing MESA spans. Yield and quality of the malting barley at Osgood and Hazelton, and the potatoes at Rexburg were equal, with additional water in the crop root zone at harvest relative to the adjacent MESA span ranging from about 10 to 25% as measured by soil sampling at 6-inch increments to a depth of 3- 4 feet (depending on the site). Soil moisture sensors were installed at 4 depths midway between sprinklers under the LESA ( 4-foot sprinkler spacing) and adjacent MESA span at each site. Sensor data was not useful for irrigation scheduling because the high stem density reduced the lateral distribution of the in-canopy water application resulting in under-irrigation of about a 1-foot band midway between sprinklers. Because of the non-uniformity of water application on potatoes and malting barley (not observed previous years with other crops), our design recommendations were changed to provide LESA drop sprinklers on no greater than 36-40 inches (rather than 48-60 inches) if high-yielding small grain or potatoes will be grown under a center pivot or linear move system. Sensors for irrigation scheduling should be located at about the 1/3 or 2/3 point between adjacent sprinklers. In 2017-2018, on a study funded by Anheuser-Busch, adjacent paired pivots of malting barley, one with LESA sprinkler technology and the other with current MESA sprinkler technology were instrumented for irrigation scheduling using soil water sensors and web-connected data loggers. Two paired-pivot sites were located near Osgood, ID and one near Rexburg, ID.Yield and quality of the malting barley at all 3 sites were equal. At the Rexburg site, 19% less water from 3 less irrigation events was applied to the LESA pivot compared to the adjacent MESA pivot, based on rain gage and water meter records. The grower used soil moisture sensor data to determine when and how long to shut off the LESA pivot.This provided energy savings of about $430 on the 105-acre LESA pivot relative to the 105-acre MESA pivot. Soil moisture sensors showed a more moist soil profile for the entire growing season under the LESA pivot, even though 19% less water was applied. Soil moisture sensors were installed at 4 depths under the both the LESA and adjacent MESA span at each site. This information was useful for documenting the range of soil moisture fluctuation between irrigations for the LESA and MESA sites. In all cases, soil moisture was greater and was consistently in the optimum range a larger portion of the time for LESA vs. MESA. These results again showed the necessity of using soil sensors and data loggers or another irrigation scheduling approach for water application to actually be reduced with LESA. The grower at the Rexburg site watched soil moisture sensor data and used it to shut off the LESA pivot when needed.The growers at the other 2 sites did not use sensor data and ran both pivots the same.This resulted in more water applied to the soil under the LESA pivot, resulting in a higher measured water content in the crop root zone at harvest. Results were similar for a repeat of the study in 2019.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Xi Liang, William (Howard) Neibling, Rui Yang. Evaluating LESA irrigation systems in potato production in southern and eastern Idaho University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences BUL #933.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Howard Neibling, Christopher W. Rogers, and Z. Qureshi. 2017. ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Scheduling the Final Irrigation for Wheat and Barleyÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ University of Idaho Extension Bul. 912. 7pp.
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Major target audiences reached were: farmers, landowners, commodity-specific ag. fieldmen, chemical or fertilizer fieldmen, electric utility personnel, irrigation equipment dealers and employees, and agency personnel such as USDA-NRCS, DEQ, etc. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Irrigation industry personnel, USDA-NRCS personnel, and Electric Utility personnel at all the sites have become more aware of the benefits of these technologies and the parts, techniques, and equipment sources for LESA retrofit and soil water -based irrigation scheduling. With the 2018 experiences, design criteria relative to sprinkler height above the ground, and sprinkler spacing are being updated. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This information has been disseminated through field days, winter grower workshops and commodity-specific extension meetings along with commodity commission newsletters, magazine and agricultural newspaper articles. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A single-span pivot at the University of Idaho Kimberly Research and Extension Center will be instrumented to determine the fraction of water applied by sprinkler heads located in-canopy and at several heights above the canopy that actually reaches the soil surface. This information is critical for evaluating trade-offs in design between sprinkler height and water savings. The most water savings will occur with in-canopy sprinkler placement, but if potatoes are used in the crop rotation, a sprinkler spacing above the canopy (less water savings) will be a lower-cost alternative that will minimize spread of disease and allow more effective chemigation.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: In 2018, on a study funded by Anheuser-Busch, adjacent paired pivots of malting barley, one with LESA sprinkler technology and the other with current MESA sprinkler technology were instrumented for irrigation scheduling using soil water sensors and web-connected data loggers. Two paired-pivot sites were located near Osgood, ID and one near Rexburg, ID. Yield and quality of the malting barley at all 3 sites were equal. At the Rexburg site, 19% less water from 3 less irrigation events was applied to the LESA pivot compared to the adjacent MESA pivot, based on rain gage and water meter records. The grower used soil moisture sensor data to determine when and how long to shut off the LESA pivot.This provided energy savings of about $430 on the 105-acre LESA pivot relative to the 105-acre MESA pivot. Soil moisture sensors showed a more moist soil profile for the entire growing season under the LESA pivot, even though 19% less water was applied. Soil moisture sensors were installed at 4 depths under the both the LESA and adjacent MESA span at each site. This information was useful for documenting the range of soil moisture fluctuation between irrigations for the LESA and MESA sites. In all cases, soil moisture was greater and was consistently in the optimum range a larger portion of the time for LESA vs. MESA. This year's results again showed the necessity of using soil sensors and data loggers or another irrigation scheduling approach for water application to actually be reduced with LESA. The grower at the Rexburg site watched soil moisture sensor data and used it to shut off the LESA pivot when needed.The growers at the other 2 sites did not use sensor data and ran both pivots the same.This resulted in more water applied to the soil under the LESA pivot, resulting in a higher measured water content in the crop root zone at harvest.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience: Major target audiences reached were: farmers, landowners, commodity-specific ag. fieldmen, chemical or fertilizer fieldmen, Electric Utility personnel, Irrigation Equipment dealers and employees, and agency personnel such as USDA-NRCS, DEQ, etc. I met one-on-one with farmers in Osgood, Idaho Falls, Mud Lake, Hazelton, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling. I worked one-on-one with farmers on9 fields in the Kimberly area with the use of new soil moisture sensor/logger equipment that stored data on the web for more convenient irrigation scheduling. • I worked with farmers in Osgood, Mud Lake, Murtaugh, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV on the use of an on-line, water-budget scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile), and on using soil moisture sensors and web-based data logger files for irrigation scheduling. I presented "New web-access soil moisture sensing/ data logging equipment" and "using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler" at a number of grower meetings in Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Irrigation industry personnel, USDA-NRCS personnel, and Electric Utility personnel at all the sites have become more aware of the benefits of these technologies and the parts, techniques, and equipment sources for LESA retrofit and soil water -based irrigation scheduling. With the 2017 experiences, design criteria relative to sprinkler height above the ground, and sprinkler spacing are beingupdated. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This information has been disseminated through field days, winter grower workshops and commodity-specific extension meetings along with commodity commission newsletters, magazine and agricultural newspaper articles. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Retrofit of full pivots from MESA to LESA and installation ofsensors/data loggers/cell phone transmitters to obtain web-available soil water data will proceedat a number of locations in Idaho and Nevada to improve visibility of the technology and to collect additional field-scale data, particularly on more runoff-prone soils to help determine practical limits for the use of LESA technology. LESA and accompanying soil water monitoring and web-based computer-based scheduling will be discussed at a number of grower workshops. Continued testing of LESA and irrigation scheduling methods will occur on severalfull pivots of LESA equipment in eastern and southern Idaho to evaluate no only water savings but also potential for reduction of lodging and head disease in cereals. Several pivots will be instrumented to determine the fraction of water applied by sprinkler heads located in-canopy and at several heights above the canopy that actually reaches the soil surface. This information is critical for evaluating trade-offs in design between sprinkler height and water savings. The most water savings will occur with in-canopy sprinkler placement, but if potatoes are used in the crop rotation, a sprinkler spacing above the canopy (less water savings) will be a lower-cost alternative that will minimize spread of disease and allow more effective chemigation.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: In 2017, on a study funded by Anheuser-Busch, adjacent paired pivots of malting barley, one withLESA sprinkler technology and the other with current MESA sprinkler technology were instrumented forirrigation scheduling usingsoil water sensors and web-connected data loggers. Two paired-pivot sites were located near Monteview, ID and one near Dubois, ID. ALESA span on a linear-move system of potatoes near Rexburg was monitored again this year, and one span of LESA was installed on 2 additional center pivots, one near Rexburg and the other near Osgood. Based on last year's results, the sprinkler drop spacing on the LESA spans was reduced from 4-5 ft. last year to about 3 ft. this year to provide better water distribution when the sprinklers were located in-canopy. At each site, the LESA span was designed to apply the same irrigation depth as the adjacent existing MESA spans. Yield and quality of the malting barley at Dubois, and the potatoes at all 3 sites wereequal.At the Dubois site, 17% less waterfrom 3 less irrigation events were applied to the LESA pivot compared to the adjacent MESA pivot, based on rain gage and water meter records. This provided energy savings of about $2000 on theLESA pivot relative to the MESA pivot. Soil moisture sensors showed a moister soil profile for the entire growing season under the LESA pivot, which allowed irrigation to be stopped about a week earlier than on the MESA pivot. Since the potato sites all had one span of LESA on a MESA machine, irrigation timing and depth was the same. However,additional water in the crop root zone at harvest relative to the adjacent MESA span ranging from about 10 to 20% greateras measured by soil sampling at 6-inch increments to a depth of 3- 4 feet (depending on the site) and gravimetric soil water content determination. Soil moisture sensors were installed at 4 depths under the both the LESA and adjacent MESA span at each site.This information was useful for documenting the range of soil moisture fluctuation between irrigations for the LESA and MESA sites. In all cases, soil moisture was greater and was consistently in the optimum rangea larger portion of the time for LESA vs. MESA. Two types of soil moisture sensors were evaluated for use in irrigation scheduling this year. Both performed adequately, although the Decagon sensors provided a more stable signalthan watermarks, particularly in the low-density potato hills.This year's results showed the necessity of using soil sensors and data loggers or another irrigation scheduling approach for water application to actually be reduced with LESA. Goal 2: Subsurface drip irrigation studies were continued on dry beans and wheat in cooperation with other UI faculty in 2017. The drip irrigation systems worked well, resulting in good crop yield and quality. Additional soil moisture sensors and other measurements were usedin 2017 to better define improvement in water use efficiency with drip irrigation.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Major target audiences reached were: farmers, landowners, commodity-specific ag. fieldmen, chemical or fertilizer fieldmen, Electric Utility personnel, and agency personnel such as USDA-NRCS, DEQ, etc. I met one-on-one with farmers in Osgood, Idaho Falls, and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV concerning types of new equipment and the use of soil moisture monitoring equipment for scientific irrigation scheduling. • I worked one-on-one with farmers on 6 fields in the Kimberly area with the use of new soil moisture sensor/logger equipment that stored data on the web for more convenient irrigation scheduling. • I worked with farmers in Osgood and Kimberly, ID and Eureka, NV on the use of an on-line, water-budget scheduling program (the WSU Irrigation Scheduler Mobile), and on using soil moisture sensors and web-based data logger files for irrigation scheduling. • I presented "New web-access soil moisture sensing/ data logging equipment" and "using the WSU Irrigation Scheduler" at a number of grower meetings in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Irrigation industry personnel, USDA-NRCS personnel, and Electric Utility personnel at all the sites have become more aware of the benefits of these technologies and the parts, techniques, and equipment sources for LESA retrofit and soil water -based irrigation scheduling. With the 2016 experiences, design criterial have been updated. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This information has been disseminated through field days, winter grower workshops and commodity-specific extension meetings along with commodity commission newsletters, magazine and agricultural newspaper articles. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Retrofit of full pivots at a number of locations and sensors/data loggers/cell phone transmitters to obtain web-available soil water data will be installed at a number of locations in Idaho and Nevada to improve visibility of the technology and collect additional field-scale data. LESA and accompanying soil water monitoring and web-based computer-based scheduling will be discussed at a number of grower workshops. Additional testing of LESA and irrigation scheduling methods will occur on 3 full pivots of LESA equipment in eastern and southern Idaho to evaluate no only water savings but also potential for reduction of lodging and head disease in cereals. At least 3 LESA spans will be installed in the same areas on pivots irrigating potatoes. Sensor location relative to drop nozzles and comparison to WSU web-based scheduler results will be tested at each location.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal1: In 2016, use of LESA pivot technology and accompanying web-available soil water data on 3 paired pivots allowed farmers in Eureka, NV to shut off the LESA pivots one to two days per week and produce alfalfa of equal or greater yield and quality than on an adjacent paired pivot of the same crop, soil and fertility which were irrigated every day. Similar results (about 15-20% reduction in water applied) were achieved at Malta and Mud Lake, ID and Yreka, CA in both 2015 and 2016.Based on 2015 results, a number of LESA retrofits with soil water sensors were installed in spring, 2016 at Eureka, NV; Mud Lake, ID; and Yreka, CA.Based on 2016 results, a number of additional LESA retrofits were installed at these locations. A USDA-NRCS cost share program to promote water conservation using LESA technology was developed for Eastern Idaho which resulted in over 26 LESA retrofits.Use of soil water sensors or other irrigation scheduling methods is essential to achieve all of the potential water savings from the use of LESA center pivot technology. In 2016, on a study funded by Anheuser-Busch, one span of LESA technology with irrigation scheduling by soil water sensors and web-connected data loggers was installed on center pivots of malting barley near Rexburg, Osgood and Hazelton, Idaho. An additional LESA span on a linear-move system of potatoes was installed near Rexburg. At each site, the LESA span was designed to apply the same irrigation depth as the adjacent existing MESA spans. Yield and quality of the malting barley at Osgood and Hazelton, and the potatoes at Rexburg were equal, with additional water in the crop root zone at harvest relative to the adjacent MESA span ranging from about 10 to 25% as measured by soil sampling at 6-inch increments to a depth of 3-4 feet (depending on the site) and gravimetric soil water content determination. Soil moisture sensors were installed at 4 depths under the LESA and adjacent MESA span at each site. However, sensor data was not useful for irrigation scheduling because the sensors were installed midway between adjacent LESA sprinklers that were spaced about 4 feet apart. The high stem density reduced the lateral distribution of the in-canopy water application resulting in under-irrigation of about a 1-foot band midway between sprinklers and non-representative sensor readings. Soil sampling at harvest was done both in the dry band and the adjacent area, with calculation of final root zone water content based on an area-weighted basis. Because of the non-uniformity of water application on potatoes and malting barley (not observed previous years with other crops), our design recommendations were changed to provide LESA drop sprinklers on no greater than 36-40 inches (rather than 48-60 inches) if high-yielding small grain or potatoes will be grown under a center pivot or linear move system. Sensors for irrigation scheduling should be located at about the 1/3 or 2/3 point between adjacent sprinklers. Goal 2 New subsurface drip irrigation studies were initiated on dry beans corn, and wheat in cooperation with other UI faculty in 2016. The drip irrigation systems worked well, resulting in good crop yield and quality. Additional soil moisture sensors and other measurements will be used in 2017 to better define improvement in water use efficiency with drip irrigation.
Publications
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