Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted audience of this project included agricultural producers, scientists, graduate students, undergraduate students, extension personnel, policy makers, and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the project period, five Ph. D. students and one post-doctoral research associate worked in variousprojects. One Ph.D. student had graduated in Spring 2019.All personnel working in the projects have received training in various activities related to agronomic research and equipment use. Undergraduate students from TAMU were hired to assist with plot maintenance and field data collection. Instrumentation used for measuring GHG emissions at the field project site was demonstrated to several visiting scientists. Graduate students working in the project attended the annual meeting of ASA-CSSA-SSSA, the Southern ASA meeting, and Beltwide cotton meeting and participated in graduate student presentation competitions. Overall, various projects have provided multiple opportunities for professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project team has been active in communicating results to various stakeholder groups through participation in scientific conferences, grower meetings and online meetings. The project team members have published several journal papers and conference abstracts (Detailed list is provided as part of this report). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue project activties as outlined in the methods section.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: To develop best management practices that optimize ecosystem services at farm, landscape, and/or regional scales,field and modeling studies are being conducted. This involved investigating conventional, organic and cover crop management practices for major grain (sorghum and corn) and cotton cropping systems in Texas. Weed control was a significant challenge in organic cropping systems. Severe weed pressure in organic systems reduced crop yield compared to conventional systems. We have also initiated a research on biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) to identify sorghum genotypes from the Texas A&M plant breeding program with BNI trait. We have identified several promising sorghum genotypes with high BNI property.Our long-term goal is to promote cropping systems and practices that are more resilient, multifunctional and sustainable through integration of crops withBNI. We are also collecting continuous carbon and evapotranspiration (ET) flux data from conventional cotton and corn fields using the eddy covariance method to improve our understanding of management and weather-driven changes in carbon and ET budgets. Due to dry conditions, growing season carbon uptake in the cotton field was less in 2018 (883 g C m−2) compared to the previous year. While the growing season of 2018 was dry, the post-harvest off-season was remarkably wet with nearly 68% of the annual precipitation occurring after harvest (848 mm). This favored aggressive growth of weeds, resulting in substantial off-season carbon uptake in 2018 (374 g C m−2 in 2018). Overall, our cotton field where the eddy covariance tower was established site was a net carbon sink in 2018. We have also found significant correlationbetween satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and gross primary production in both cotton and corn. Given that correlation, it would be possible to upscalecarbon uptake results to the wider region by estimating GPP with satellite data. Objective 2: We used the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) CERES Maize model for simulating dryland corn production in Central Texas. We simulated ET using DSSAT and compared it that to ET measured using an eddy covariance system for rainfed corn in Texas. Three years of ET data (2017, 2018 and 2019) was used in this study. Results indicated a low coefficient of determination between simulated and measured ET, due to overestimation of simulated ET in all three years. The average percent root mean square error for the daily ET simulation across all three years was 34.6% for the Priestley Taylor method and 30.4% for the FAO?56 method. For the FAO56 simulation, the average seasonal overestimation compared to measured ET was 59 mm and the average coefficient of determination was 0.59. For the Priestley Taylor method, the average seasonal overestimation was 72 mm and the average coefficient of determination was 0.57. Possible sources of error contributing to this overestimation include DSSAT's potential ET estimations, crop coefficient estimation, and the simulation of soil water balance in vertisols with high swell shrink clay minerals. The mixed simulation results, particularly compared to those seen in studies of irrigated crops, indicate a greater need to improve ET estimation capabilities in DSSAT. Objective 3: We are continuing our research using UAVs. We found strong correlations between canopy temperature estimated from thermal infrared orthomosaics generated from UAV imagery and soil moisture. These results showed that UAV thermal data could be a near real-time indicator of soil moisture status at fine spatial resolutions. Such data could be used to generate high quality irrigation prescriptions for variable rate irrigation management, which could potentially increase crop water use efficiency.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bhandari, M., Ibrahim, A. M. H., Xue, Q., Neely, H. L., Rajan, N., Jung, J., Maeda, M. M., Landivar, J., Opena, G., Rudd, J. C., Baker. S., & Adhikari, A. (2018). High-Throughput Field Phenotyping in Wheat to Assess Yield and Foliage Disease Severity. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Menefee, D., & Rajan, N. (2018). Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Production and Water-Use Efficiency Estimates of Cotton and Corn in East-Central Texas Using Eddy Covariance and Planetscope. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Menefee, D., Rajan, N., & Cui, S. (2018). Comparison of Eddy Covariance Evapotranspiration Measurements to DSSAT Simulation for Dryland Corn and Cotton in East-Central Texas. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD (Won first prize in Ph.D. student oral competition).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Menefee, D., Rajan, N., Schnell, R., & Bagavathiannan, M. (2018). Effect of Cover Crops and Tillage Practices on Cotton Performance. Abstracts, Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Olanrewaju, S., Rajan, N., Ibrahim, A. M., Rudd, J. C., Liu, S., Sui, R., Jessup, K.E., & Xue, Q. (2019). Using aerial imagery and digital photography to monitor growth and yield in winter wheat. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 40(18), 6905-6929. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2019.1597303
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Chavez, J. C., Enciso, J., Ganjegunte, G., Rajan, N., Jifon, J., & Singh, V. P. (2019). Growth Response and Productivity of Sorghum for Bioenergy Production in South Texas. Transactions of the ASABE, 62(5), 1207-1218. doi: 10.13031/trans.13317
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Siegfried, J., & Rajan, N. (2018). Proximal and Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing for Crop Growth and Stress Monitoring. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Moreno, J., Schnell, R.W., Rajan, N., & Bagavathiannan, M. (2018). Effect of Cover Crop Residues on Soil Organic Carbon Mineralization in an Organic Soybean Production System. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., Rajan, N., Jifon,J., & Hoogenboom, G. (2018). Potential of Growing Lignocellulosic Feedstocks in Limited Resources Condition. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., Rajan, N., Schnell, R. W. & Zapata, D. (2018). Effect of Cover Crop Residues on Soil Organic Carbon Mineralization in an Organic Soybean Production System. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD (Won second prize in Ph.D. student poster competition).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Zapata. D. M., Rajan, N., Moreno, J., Casey, K., & Schnell, R. (2018). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Organically Managed Cropping Systems in Texas. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Zapata. D. M., Rajan, N., Casey, K., Mowrer, J., & Schnell, R. (2018). Carbon and Nitrogen Mineralization of Cereal and Legume Cover Crop Residues in Organic Soils. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 4-7, Baltimore, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Menefee, D., & Rajan, N. (2019). Evaluating Winter Cover Crops on Cotton Performance. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 8-10, New Orleans, LA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Menefee, D., & Rajan, N. (2019). Comparison of Eddy Covariance Evapotranspiration Measurements to DSSAT and Remote Sensing Based Simulations in Dryland Cotton in East-Central Texas. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 8-10, New Orleans, LA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siegfried, J., & Rajan, N. (2019). Proximal and Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing for Monitoring Crop Growth and Stress. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 8-10, New Orleans, LA (Won first prize in Ph.D. student oral competition).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zapata. D. M., Rajan, N., Casey, K., Schnell, R., & Mowrer, J. (2019). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cover Crop Decomposition in an Organic Corn Field in Texas. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Siegfried, J., & Rajan, N. (2019). Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing for Cotton Yield Estimation. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL (Won first prize in Ph.D. student poster competition).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., Rajan, N., & Jifon, J. (2019). Optimizing Irrigation Management Strategies for Energycane Production Using Decision Support System. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Menefee, D., Rajan, N., Shafian, S., & Cui, S. (2019). Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Production and Water-Use Efficiency Estimates of Cotton and Corn in East-Central Texas Using Eddy Covariance and PlanetScope. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., Rajan, N., & Schnell, R. (2019). Carbon Mineralization from Winter Cereal Cover Crops in an Organic No-till Soybean Production System. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Menefee, D., Rajan, N., & Cui, S. (2019). Comparison of Eddy Covariance Evapotranspiration Measurements to DSSAT Simulation for Dryland Corn and Cotton in East-Central Texas. Abstracts, Annual Meeting of the Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, 3-5 February, Birmingham, AL.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chen, Y., Ale, S., & Rajan, N. (2018). Implications of Biofuel-Induced Changes in Land Use and Crop Management on Sustainability of Agriculture in the Texas High Plains.Biomass and Bioenergy, 111:13-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.01.012
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Sharma, S., Rajan, N., Cui, S., Maas, S., Casey, K., Ale, S., & Jessup, R. (2019). Carbon and evapotranspiration dynamics of a non-native perennial grass with biofuel potential in the southern US Great Plains. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 269, 285-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.01.037
|
Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted audience of this project included agricultural producers, scientists, graduate students, undergraduate students, extension personnel, policy makers, and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The projects provided opportunities for 4 Ph. D graduate students and oneM.S. stduents. All students presented project results at multiple scientific conferences. Students also particpated in graduate stduent presentation competitions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated through presentations, abstracts, journal articles, and websites. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research, training and dissemination to support the above objectives will be continued in 2019.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(Objective 1: Develop best management practices that optimize ecosystem services at farm, landscape, and/or regional scales)We evaluated four management practices involving combinations of cover crops and tillage fortransitional organic grain (corn, sorghum and soybeans) cropping systems in Texas. Management practices were (a) conventional tillage production systems with no cover crop, (b) conventional tillage production systems with double cover crops, (c) reduced tillage systems with a single fall cover crop treatment, and (d) reduced tillage systems with a double cover crop treatment. Double cover cropping included both summer/fall and winter cover crops. In double cover crop treatment, cowpea was planted immediately after harvesting of grain crops. The fall cover crop grew for two months and was shredded and incorporated before planting the winter cover crops. Winter cover crop wasa mixture of wheat/barley/Austrian winter pea. Grain crops were planted after mechanically terminating winter cover crops in early spring. Aboveground biomass production was similar between treatments and no statistical differences were observed between the treatments at all sampling dates. Before mechanical termination, the aboveground biomass of the cereal/legume mixture in conventionally tilled plots ranged from 1960 to 4050 kg/ha and averaged at 2760 kg/ha, whereas the aboveground biomass yield of the cereal/legume mixture in reduced tillage plots ranged from 1840 to 3660 kg/ha and averaged at 2730 kg/ha. For Austrian winter pea, the average biomass before mechanical termination ranged from 1220 to 3730 kg/ha and averaged at 2490 kg/ha. Conventional tillage treatments resulted in higher grain yields. Weeds were a main issue in no-tillage plots. The effect of management practices on soil temperature and soil moisture varied among treatment plots. Overall, reduced tillage plots had higher soil temperatures than conventional plots. Similarly, soil moisture in the top soil was low in the double-cover crop treatment under conventional till. We quantified greenhouse gas emissions from all management practices.The low soil nitrogen status resulted in low nitrous oxide flux during the first year and sporadic N2O flux during the second year of transition to organic. Carbon dioxide flux reported in this study were generally higher than previously reported. Soil cracking was a significant factor for increased CO2 emissions towards the late season of 2017 due to soil cracking during drought conditions. Overall, cover crop mixtures increased soil carbon dioxide emissions compared to the treatment with no cover crop. (Objective2:Apply plant growth simulation models for simulating crop productivity and management practices under changing climate and management conditions)The effects of cover crops and tillage practices on cottonwere studied using crop simulation modeling software. We used field datato calibrate the cultivar coefficients in the CERES-Wheat model in Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) modeling platform. The CERES-Wheat and CROPGRO cotton models were set up in sequential mode and run for a period of five years using historical weather data. The cotton-wheat system was modeled to have lower average yields compared to the cotton-fallow system. The lower average yields were accompanied by lower overall growth in terms of leaf area and biomass.The modeling results showed no significant difference between conventional and no-tillage practices. In a separate simulation study, weevapotranspiration was modeled using DSSAT. The CROPGRO-Cotton model was used for modeling cotton growth and development. ET was modeled using DSSAT's internal system, which first models potential ET (using either the FAO-56 equation or the Priestly-Taylor/Ritchie equation) and then modifies potential ET using soil water availability, root biomass, leaf area, and crop growth stage. Collected plant growth data was used to calibrate the genetic coefficients used in the plant growth model. ET was modeled using both methods of calculating potential ET, with greater success found with the Priestly-Taylor/Ritchie method. Both methods are based off the Penman-Monteith equation, with the Priestly-Taylor/Ritchie equation being a simplified version that does not incorporate wind speed. The FAO-56 method is ideal for more arid and windy environments. The 2018 FAO-56 model significantly under estimated cotton ET compared to the Priestly-Taylor/Ritchie model. (Objective 3: Develop and evaluate methods based on latest sensor technologies on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and field platforms to aid agronomic management of crops) A study was conducted to determine whether multispectral UAV imagery could quantify in-field yield variability, growth, and water use efficiency in irrigated cotton production. Multispectral UAV imagery was acquired at weekly intervals from 30 meters above ground level and it was processed to produce high resolution orthomosaics. Derivatives from the orthomosaics were analyzed to assess whether imagery acquired at several growth stages was representative of seed cotton yield. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) had a linear relationship with yield, which was strongest at approximately peak bloom. A novel method, Lint Pixel Count, had an equally strong polynomial relationship on the day of harvest. Results suggest that both methods could help quantify seed cotton yield at different time points in the growing season, which warrants continued exploration.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Shafian, S., N. Rajan, R. Schnell, D. Cope, I. Gates and A. Vree. 2017. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for High Throughput Phenotyping of Sorghum Crop. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Mikeska, M., N. Rajan, G. Morgan and S. Hague. 2017. Development and Evaluation of a Field-Based Phenotyping System for Cotton. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N and D. Menefee. 2017. Comparison of Simulated Crop Evapotranspiration with Eddy Covariance Measurements. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zapata, D., N. Rajan, K. D. Casey and R. W. Schnell. 2017. Diurnal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Different Carbon and Nitrogen Input from Cover Crops. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Chen, Y., S. Ale, and N. Rajan. 2018. Implications of Biofuel-Induced Changes in Land Use and Crop Management on Sustainability of Agriculture in The Texas High Plains. Biomass and Bioenergy, 111:13-21.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Shafian, S., N. Rajan, R. Schnell, M. Bagavathiannan, J. Valasek, Y. Shi, and J. Olsenholler. 2018. Unmanned Aerial Systems-Based Remote Sensing for Monitoring Sorghum Growth and Development. Plos One, 13(5): e0196605.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Menefee, D and N. Rajan. 2018. Modeling Evapotranspiration Using DSSAT and Eddy Covariance Measurements in Texas Cotton. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 3-5, San Antonio, TX
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Mikeska, M., N. Rajan, D. Cope and S. Shafian. 2018. The Application of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Monitoring Cotton Growth and Development. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 3-5, San Antonio, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., N. Rajan, J. Jifon, D. Menefee, M. Mikeska, and D. Zapata. 2017. Agronomic Performance of Newly Developed Lignocellulosic Bioenergy Crops in Texas. Texas Plant Protection Conference, December 06-07, College Station, TX
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Menefee, D., N. Rajan, S. Cui, D. Zapata, P. Pokhrel and M. Miles. 2017. Modeling Evapotranspiration Using DSSAT and Eddy Covariance Measurements in Cotton and Corn. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Menefee, D., N. Rajan, S. Cui, D. Zapata, P. Pokhrel and M. Miles. 2017. Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Production and Water-Use Efficiency Estimates of Cotton and Corn in East-Central Texas Using Eddy Covariance and Remote Sensing. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N., R. Schnell, M. Bagavathiannan, S. Nair, D. Constance, K.D.Casey, D. Zapata, J. Moreno and S. Samuelson. 2017. Transitioning Organic Grain and Soybean Cropping Systems in Texas: Challenges and Benefits. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zapata, D., N. Rajan, and F. M. Hons. 2017. Does High Soil Moisture in No-till Systems Increase CO2 Emissions and Reduce Carbon Sequestration? Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., N. Rajan, J. Jifon, D. Menefee, Mikeska, M and D. Zapata. 2017. Agronomic Performance of Newly Developed Lignocellulosic Bioenergy Crops in Texas. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Shafian, S., N. Rajan, F. Bo, C. Neely, and M. W. Brown. 2017. Evaluating Different Methods for Winter Wheat Water Content Estimation from Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., N. Rajan and J. Jifon. 2017. Modeling the Growth of Bioenergy Crops Using DSSAT. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Mikeska, M., N. Rajan and S. Shafian. 2017. The Application of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Monitoring Cotton Growth and Development. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Moreno, J., R. W. Schnell, M. Bagavathiannan, C. B. Neely and N. Rajan. 2017. Organic Farming Implementing Cover Croping and Varying Tillage Practices. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N and D. Zapata. 2017. Cover Crop Effects on Soil Moisture in Transitioning Organic Cropping Systems. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, October 22-25, Tampa, FL
|
Progress 08/09/17 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Scientists, extension personnel, producers, policy makers and general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The projects provided opportunities for graduate student(4 Ph. D and 1 M.S.) and post doctioral (1 research associate) trainings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated through presentations, abstracts, journal articles, and websites. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research, training and dissemination to support the above objectives will be continued in 2018.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1:Develop best management practices that optimize ecosystem services at farm, landscape, and/or regional scales: An organicfield study was established in September 2016 at the Texas A&M Research Farm (30°33'7.34" N, 96°25'32.96" W). The land was previously left fallow for several years (2006-2016). The experimental design is a randomized strip-split plot design with threereplications. The rotation for main crops is soybeans-corn-sorghum. All three main crops are in rotation each year. The treatments under each main crop include: (1) Current practice, which uses primary and secondary tillage operations for pre-plant weed control, incorporation of manure and seedbed preparation; (2) Summer Cover Crop-No Till grain/soybean; (3) Summer Cover Crop - Fall Cover Mulch - No Till grain/soybean; and (4) Summer Cover Crop - Fall Cover Mulch - Conventional Till grain/soybean. Baseline soil samples were collected for soil fertility and initial weed seed bank estimation. Cowpea was planted as the summer cover crop in treatments 2, 3 and 4 planted on 9/23/2016 at a seeding rate of 40 kg ha-1.Seeds were inoculated with N-Dure inoculant. For fall cover mulch,a cover crop mixture of winter rye and hairy vetch was planted. Cowpea was shredded on 11/17/2016 and planted to Rye/Vetch mixture (2.5:1 ratio) at 7" row spacing the following day at a seeding rate of 146 kg ha-1. In treatment # 4, cowpea residues were incorporated by plowing before planting Rye/Vetch. Manure was applied in all plots on 3/3/2017 using a manure spreader at a rate of approximately 4,450 kg ha-1. We integrated two gas analyzers with different capabilities to simultaneously measure major greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes at the soil surface. The LI-8100A (LI-COR Biosciences, Lincoln, NE) system has eight long-term chambers, a multiplexer and an infrared gas analyzer for measuring CO2.We integrated LI-8100A with a PICARRO G2408 GHG analyzer (Picarro Inc, Santa Clara, CA) for measuring CH4 and N2O concentrations in addition to CO2. Both analyzers were connected in parallel. The system allowed automated measurements at 30-minutes measurements. Each chamber was programmed to close for 3- minutes and the increase in gas concentration over that period was used to calculate GHG fluxes using the SoilFluxPro software (version 4.0.1, Li-COR Biosciences., Lincoln, NE). Half-hourly measurements were made from all four treatments of a main crop for 7-10 consecutive days. After that, the chambers were moved to the next main crop. A total of 11 measurement campaigns were conducted which covered the early-, mid-, and late- growing season periods of corn, sorghum and soybean. Preliminary results from this study was presented at the 2017 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings in Tampa, FL. (2) Apply plant growth simulation models for simulating crop productivity and management practices under changing climate and management conditions; Testing of simulations of evapotranspiration (ET) by crop models is not widely done due to lack of availability of field-scale ET data. Since crop growth is highly dependent on water use, accurate simulation of ET is critical for using information gathered in modeling in agricultural decision-making. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) ET models for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in East-Central Texas. High frequency measurements of CO2, water vapor and energy exchange were made using eddy covariance flux towers established in two near-by fields in Burleson County, TX in the 2017 growing season. The DSSAT- Cropping System Models (CSM) for cotton (CROPGRO Cotton) and corn (CERES- Maize) werecalibrated using plant phenological data. After calibration, model simulations of ET were compared with actual field measurements of ET. DSSAT cotton and corn models were performed reasonably well in simulating ET. (3) Develop and evaluate methods based on latest sensor technologies on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and field platforms to aid agronomic management of crops. A field experiment was estabslished in 2017 at College Station, TX. Cotton was planted on April 28, 2017. Eight varieties were planted at a rate of 45,000 seeds/ac (PHY 333, PHY 499, FM 1900, FM 2484, ST 4946, NG 1511, DP 1549, DP 15R551).Since the start of the season, 20 successful UAS flight missions of the study were conducted. These include high resolution RGB images as well as a high resolution multispectral images and thermal images. These flights are being performed on a weekly basis +/- 2 hours of solar noon. The flight team is using two different platforms to conduct the surveys. TheTuffWing UAV mapper is a fixed winged platform equiped with a high resolution multispectral camera (Micasense Red Edge). The DJI Matrice 100 is a multi-rotor platform that is equipped with a high resolution RGB camera (DJI Zenmuse X4S Camera). The high throughput phenotyping ground vehicle eas driven on the days that flights are conducted. The vehicle has been altered since last years experiment. Sensors are now mounted on the front of the vehicle.The same parameters are being measured (reflectance, temperature and height) Data is collected and then projected onto a field map. Interpolations of the data are performed to represent the data in a spatial manner. Data collected from the ground vehicle will be compared to the data collected from the UAV flights as well as the ground data collected.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zapata, D., N. Rajan, K.D. Casey and R. W. Schnell. 2016. Diurnal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Different Carbon and Nitrogen Input from Cover Crops. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N., R. Schnell, M. Bagavathiannan, S. Nair, D. Constance, K.D. Casey, D. Zapata, J. Moreno and S. Samuelson. 2017. Transitioning Organic Grain and Soybean Cropping Systems in Texas: Challenges and Benefits. Abstracts, ASA- CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Moreno, J., R. Schnell, M. Bagavathiannan, C. Neely and N. Rajan. 2017. Organic Farming Implementing Cover Croping and Varying Tillage Practices. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Menefee, D., N. Rajan, S. Cui, P. Pokhrel, D. Zapata and M. Mikeska. 2017. Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Production and Water-Use Efficiency Estimates of Cotton and Corn in East-Central Texas Using Eddy Covariance and Remote Sensing. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Shafian, S., N. Rajan and S. Sharma. 2017. Estimation of Gross Primary Production of Sorghum Using Landsat Imagery and Eddy Covariance Data. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N., S. Shafian, R. Schnell, J. Valasek, M. Bagavathiannan, D. Menefee, P. Pokhrel, J. Olsenholler and Y. Shi. Using a Fixed Wing Uav Remote Sensing System for Monitoring Sorghum Growth and Development. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rajan, N and D. Menefee. 2017. Comparison of Simulated Crop Evapotranspiration with Eddy Covariance Measurements. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Mikeska, M., N. Rajan, G. Morgan and S. Hague. 2017. Development and Evaluation of a Field-Based Phenotyping System for Cotton. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sharma, S., N. Rajan, K. Casey, S. Ale, R. Jessup and S. Maas. 2017. Inter-annual carbon, water and energy exchange of irrigated and dryland cotton in the Texas High Plains. Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 4-6, Dallas, TX.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sharma, S. 2017. Carbon, Evapotranspiration and Energy Balance Dynamics of Potential Bioenergy Crops Compared to Cotton in the Southern Great Plains. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from http : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /161571.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sharma, S., N. Rajan, S. Cui, K. Casey, S. Ale, R. Jessup and S. Maas. 2017. Seasonal variability of evapotranspiration and carbon exchanges over a biomass sorghum field in the Southern U.S. Great Plains. Biomass and Bioenergy, 105: 392-401.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zapata, D., N. Rajan and F. Hons. 2017. Does High Soil Moisture in No-till Systems Increase CO2 Emissions and Reduce Carbon Sequestration? Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Menefee, D., N. Rajan, S. Cui, D. Zapata, P. Pokhrel and M. Mikeska. 2017. Modeling Evapotranspiration Using DSSAT and Eddy Covariance Measurements in Cotton and Corn. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., N. Rajan, J. Jifon, D. Menefee, M. Mikeska and D. Zapata. 2017. Agronomic Performance of Newly Developed Lignocellulosic Bioenergy Crops in Texas. Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pokhrel, P., N. Rajan and J. Jifon. Modeling the Growth of Bioenergy Crops Using DSSAT.Abstracts, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, 22-25 Oct., Tampa, FL.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Chen, Y., S. Ale, N. Rajan and R. Srinivasan. 2017. Modeling the effects of land use change from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to perennial bioenergy grasses on watershed hydrology and water quality under changing climate. Agricultural Water Management, 192: 198-208.
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