Southwestern Colorado Research Center Retrospective

Transcription

1 Southwestern Colorado Research Center Retrospective AES Research Center Conference January 7, 2016 Abdel Berrada, Senior Research Scientist & Manager

2 Pre-CSU Morocco (Dep. of Ag.) Kansas (Servi-Tech Inc.) Sub-Saharan Africa (Purdue U.) Nebraska-UNL (graduate student & research associate) CSU Yellow Jacket (Oct. 93 Apr. 04) Rocky Ford (May 04 June 08) Yellow Jacket (July 08 Present)

3 Effort Distribution 50-60% Research 20-30% RC Management 10-20% Outreach Total = 140%!

4 Breakthrough! Respond to requests for researchbased information

5 No-Till NO-TILL

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7 Variety trials Planting dates & rates Crop rotation Deficit irrigation Birds/wildlife Markets High Oleic SUN Organic Safflower Volunteer plants

8 Response of Sunflower to Deficit Irrigation Yield (lb/ac) Seed Yield Irr+Rain Pre-P R4-6 R1-6 Full Irrigation treatment Irrigation+Rain (in.)

9 Irrigation Water Management SW Colorado SE Colo./Ark. Valley Limited supply Excellent quality Sprinkler irrigation Short growing season Wind-deposited soils Hay, wheat, beans Orchards/Vineyards Dwindling supply Salts, selenium, etc. Surface irrigation Longer growing season Alluvial soils Alfalfa, corn Vegetables

10 Irrigation Water Management Lysimeter Irrigation scheduling (Res., Surveys & Demo.) Deficit irrigation Drip irrigation Irrigation x Nutrient Salinity (AVRC) Alfalfa, chickpea, corn, dry bean, spring wheat, sunflower

11 Corn response to deficit irrigation Grain yield (lb/bu) % (8.3") 67% (16.7") 100% (25.0")

12 Drip vs. Furrow Irrigation SDI FrI 200 bu/acre

13 Corn Yield vs N & Manure Rates bu/a LSD 0.05 : 20 bu/a 0N 60N 120N 180N 10T 20T 30T

14 ECe as affected by irrigation type in Oct SDI FrI 5.0 ECe (ds/m) Soil Depth (ft)

15 Bean Salt Tolerance Bill Z Sacremento UI 911 mmol/sq. m x s ds/m

16 Rocky Ford (AVRC) Yellow Jacket (SWCRC) Mike in charge of RC management Collaboration with Ardell Halvorson Interaction with CSU faculty & students Greenhouse Irrigated agriculture Res./Mgmt/Outreach Farthest away from campus Less face-to-face interaction with campus Beautiful vistas Archeology/culture Irrigated & Dryland

17 2012 AG CENSUS County Cropland Irrigated Land Dolores 73,085 7,400 La Plata 85,890 61,700 Montezuma 97,381 60,617 TOTAL 256, ,126 CRP 48,610

18 Low & erratic precipitation (12-16 in.) Short growing season ( days) Low soil organic matter (~1%) Significant risk of water & wind erosion Soil management (conventional tillage, low or no soil cover)

19 4.0 Akron (16.6") Yellow Jacket (15.6") Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Precipitation (in)

20 Water Erosion Wind Erosion

21 How to make dryland farming more sustainable? Permanent pasture, grazing, hunting! NT/CT Crop diversity Organic crop production (wheat, safflower)

22 Cover Crops!

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24 The Feasibility of Cover Crops in Dryland Cropping Systems in SW Colorado & SE Utah colostate.edu/

25 The main goal of this project is to determine if & how cover crops can enhance the sustainability of dryland farming in SW Colorado & SE Utah.

26 Assess the effects of cover crops on: Soil moisture Soil quality & health Weed control Cash crop Determine which cover cropping strategies are profitable. Share findings with farmers & ranchers, ag professionals via field tours, workshops, web, etc.

27 On-Farm Tests 1. Wheat-fallow-wheat-wheat, no-till (UT, Barry) OFT#1 (three fields) 2. Wheat-safflower-fallow, organic, mulch-till (UT, Crowley) OFT#2 3. Wheat-fallow, no-till (CO, Lewis) OFT#3 4. Wheat-sunflower-fallow, conventional tillage (CO, Garchar) OFT#4 5. Wheat-fallow-wheat-bean, organic, mulch-till (CO, Waschke) OFT#5

28 Research Center Tests Each test will have 3 to 4 replications. Test #1 ( ): No-till wheat-fallow Drilled three cover crop mixes on 9/28/15. Test #2: Seeded to winter wheat on 9/24/15. Wheat-Fallow vs. Wheat-Bean Rotation No-till vs. Conventional tillage Up to six cover crop mixes, some of which will be similar to the ones tested on farmers fields.

29 Measurements Soil measurements Water content Infiltration rate Soil fertility Soil microbial community Plant Measurements Plant biomass Cash crop yield & quality Economics

30 OFT#1/North Field Wheat- Fallow, NT Species % by weight Winter pea 25 Yellow sweet clover 5 Berseem clover 10 Sudangrass 10 Nitro radish 5 Turnip purple top 5 Proso millet 10 Buckwheat 20 Sunflower 5 Teff 5 Seeding rate & cost 35 $18.9/A Seeding date & method 8/15/2015, NT drill

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32 Crop testing, alternative crops, IPM

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