Project Number: 5436-13210-003-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jul 24, 2003
End Date: Jul 31, 2005

Objective:
1. To develop and manage diverse irrigated and dryland cropping strategies and technologies that increase crop yields and soil and water quality while maximizing agrochemical, water and nutrient use efficiencies. 2. To determine and quantify environmental benefits from improved soil and water management, diverse crop rotations, reduced tillage, and the bundling of specific groups of cultural practices on plant, soil and water resources (e.g. reduced agrochemicals in leachate and field run off; improved soil water storage and use; reduced incidence of disease and weeds; optimized nutrient cycling; and, increased soil biodiversity under the cropping systems developed above for irrigated and dryland agriculture.) 3. To extend plot study results to larger areas through a process of testing promising plot research outcomes on growers¿ fields, and using feedback from both research scales in calibrating existing models with GIS and other valid management tools (e.g., meteorological networks, remote sensing, EC mapping, yield maps) to regionally extend research results and enhance development of relevant decision aids, which will facilitate the rapid dissemination of findings and increase adoption by the agricultural community.

Approach:
Research teams focus on the ecology, soil, water and crop management, and water quality issues related to specific long term dryland and irrigated crop rotations covering a range of common soil types and agronomic objectives tested under both replicated plot and field conditions. The effect of crop diversity and intensity, cultural practices, crop rotations and soil water management on diseases and weed populations as well as soil and water quality are evaluated to determine sustainable crop production strategies for the region. Dryland rotational treatments compare diverse small grain production using conventional tillage and cropping practices with no-till and ecologically-based cropping practices. Crop rotations and sequences, conservation (strip) tillage, and irrigation frequency studies examine the interactions between yields, pest problems and soil water movement within accepted sugarbeet-barley rotations under precision application linear move irrigation systems. Spatially varying plant nutrient levels, yields, disease and weed populations and soil quality data are analyzed and compared with remotely sensed information over time. Soil fauna are investigated to determine abundance and the combined species interrelationships with respect to enzymatic activities, uronic acid concentrations and effects on nutrient cycling and soil aggregation under various dryland and irrigated cropping systems. Natural antagonists and plant protection mechanisms are identified and used to develop fungal disease and weed biocontrol strategies. Measurements are taken to assess and quantify the environmental impacts of different management practices and strategies on improving soil and water quality, reducing runoff and leachate, and quantifying the resulting influences on weed/disease ecology. Nutrient and soil water management alternatives, selected precision agriculture technologies, specific tillage and other farming practices that minimize soil disturbance and compaction essential for maintaining soil structure and decreasing runoff (water quality) under irrigated crop rotations are evaluated for potential water quality benefits of various cropping systems using a combination of existing models and laboratory and field measurements. Technologies are demonstrated and transferred to growers using replicated field scale trials and existing farm management computer models comparing diverse cropping, reduced tillage and ecological crop management with conventional systems. User-friendly systems for the management and interpretation of spatial data using new measurement technologies that replace current time-consuming and laborious methods are developed to help diffuse site-specific management of field crop production over broad geographical areas.