2005-06 Deliverables
Task 4 Research
Principal Investigator(s): Bob Wiedenfeld
- Continue evaluation of sugarcane water use and development of crop coefficients for use with reference evapotranspiration in the Rio Grande Valley using capacitance probes to continuously monitor soil moisture content throughout the soil profile under sugarcane (Cooperators - John Jifon, Juan Enciso).
- Continue a replicated field study to evaluate burned vs. green harvested sugarcane on soil moisture use and availability, soil properties and crop responses.
- Continue a replicated field study to compare crop water use for conventional vs. several conservation tillage systems in the subtropical Rio Grande Valley. Production practices for these systems are also being developed and evaluated. Spring crops consist of a cotton/grain sorghum rotation. Fall crops include a row crop (corn following cotton, soybean following sorghum), a cover crop (oats following cotton, vetch following sorghum), or fallow. This is anticipated to be a long term tillage study (Cooperator - Charles Stichler).
- Continue work in cooperation with Tom Gerik to adapt and calibrate the CroPMan model for sugarcane production in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
- Continue studies to compare crop water use by different cool-season vegetable crops under drip and flood irrigation (Cooperators - John Jifon and Juan Enciso).