Progress Report on Microirrigation in Oregon, 2002.


Clinton Shock (1), Erik Feibert (1), Eric Eldredge (1), Monty Saunders (1), Marvin Butler (2), Claudia Campbell (2),
Fred Crowe (2), Peter Sexton (3), and Jim Klauzer (4)

Western Region Project W-128: Microirrigation: Management Practices to Sustain Water Quality and Agricultural Productivity, New Orleans, LA, October 22-24, 2002.


1) Malheur Experiment Station, OSU, 595 Onion Ave., Ontario, OR 97914 Telephone (541) 889-2174 Email: Clinton.Shock@oregonstate.edu
2) Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center, OSU, 850 Dogwood Lane, Madras, OR 97741 Telephone (541) 475-7107
3) University of Maine
4) Clearwater Supply, Ontario, OR.

Summary

Drip irrigation systems were tested on alfalfa for seed, alfalfa for hay, potato, onion for seed and for bulbs, poplar for logs, yew, sugar beet, wheat, carrot for seed, and mint.  Treatments are being evaluated based on crop yield, crop quality, and water use efficiency.  Grids of sensors are being used to examine the vertical and horizontal movement of water through the soil profile from drip lines.  Various soil moisture monitoring equipment is being evaluated for use as irrigation scheduling tools in growers’ fields.

Highlights were as follows:

1. Reduced N fertilizer for drip-irrigated onions.  In 1999-2001 we demonstrated that onions required relatively little fertilizer N when irrigated with SDI.  In 2002 these demonstrations were moved to growers’ fields.  Drip-irrigated onion has expanded to 2,000 acres in the Treasure Valley and about 8,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).  There are now 1,300 acres in Malheur County, with vastly reduced N inputs and no irrigation-induced erosion and associated pollutant runoff.  Thirty to 40 percent less water was required using SDI.

2. Potato water use efficiency was very high using SDI.  Potato irrigation criterion proved to be wetter using SDI than had been previously shown for potato irrigation criteria in furrow or sprinkler irrigation systems, but less total water was required using SDI than with the other irrigation systems.  The first commercial potato production under SDI was established with above par yield.

3. Potato cultivar performance under drip irrigation.  Several potato cultivars harvested early and late demonstrated promise in 2001 when grown using SDI.  In 2002 this work was expanded to examine a wider range of cultivars, planting dates, and harvest dates under SDI.

4. Irrigation criterion for alfalfa seed production.  Alfalfa seed yield using SDI was high with about 14 acre-inches of water per acre, compared with wetter or drier treatments.  When three growers’ irrigation systems were changed from furrow irrigation to SDI, the response of alfalfa seed yield was favorable.  Commercial drip-irrigated acreage in the Treasure Valley expanded in 2002 to 380 acres, 360 acres of which are in Malheur County.

5. Four semi-permanent buried drip irrigation systems were established on a cooperating grower's farm in 2000 to examine the possibility of SDI through an entire crop rotation.
 
6. Irrigation systems for poplar production.  Water use efficiency of SDI is greater than micro-sprinklers for poplar saw-log production.  Drip irrigation of poplar is well established in the PNW.

7. Carrot seed yield response to irrigation criteria. Carrot grown for seed is a very important high-value crop in central Oregon.  Disease tolerances are low in the crop, particularly to Xanthomonas campestris pv carotae, Alternaria radicina and A. dauci.  Employing a subsurface drip system to deliver irrigation water may decrease potential for disease infection and spread within the carrot canopy and may provide long term benefits of decreasing water and fertilizer use. Trials were conducted in 1999-2001 to observe carrot yield and disease incidence with five different drip-irrigation thresholds (-15, -30, -60, -90, and -120 kPa soil water potential). There was an adjacent area of sprinkler irrigated carrots for a comparison each year, irrigated at a threshold of -60 kPa.

In 2001 the three wettest drip-irrigated treatments (-60, -30, and -15 kPa) were among the most productive, and still required less water than the adjoining sprinkler-irrigated carrots.  Although statistical comparisons with the sprinkler-irrigated area were not possible, the sprinkler-irrigated carrots had Xanthomonus infection of 20 percent while overall the drip-irrigated treatments averaged less than 10 percent.

8. Drip tape placement for onion seed production.  Onion seed production was studied with drip tape on the soil surface or buried at 2-, 4-, or 8-inch depth.  An adjoining area was sprinkler-irrigated.  Over two years the drip-irrigated treatments required 26 percent less water.  

Although not strictly comparable by statistics, over the two years onion seed yield with the drip tape at 4-inch depth averaged 789 lb/acre while the adjoining sprinkler-irrigated area averaged 277 lb/acre.  Bacterial soft rot was more prevalent in the sprinkler-irrigated onions, as can be expected by the epidemiology of the disease.

9. Instrumentation for soil moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling.  Evaluation of granular matrix sensors (read with portable hand held meters or various data loggers) TDR probes, various capacitance probes, neutron probes, and tensiometers continued in 2002.  These sensors were used in the various projects highlighted above.

Students (2002)

VISITING SCIENTISTS, Drip Irrigation of Potato

Mr. Levent Abdullah Unlenen, Agricultural Engineer, Nigde Patates Arastirma, Enstitusu Mudurlugu, Nigde, Turkey, 51100; three months in 2002.

Dr. Ali Ibrahim Akin, Researcher, Ankara Nuclear Agriculture and Animal Research Center, 06105 Saray/Ankara, Turkey; three and a half months in 2002.

STUDENT ADVISING (SUPERVISION OF STUDENT RESEARCH HELP)

Benjamin Horn Treasure Valley C.C.
 Payette, ID
Autumn Tschida     Ontario HS Ontario, OR
Grant Tschida Ontario HS Ontario, OR
Kindra Nelson Ontario HS Ontario, OR
Cedric Shock University of Oklahoma Ontario, OR


SDI Publications (2002)

1.  Referred journal articles and book chapters

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, M. Seddigh, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Water requirements and growth of irrigated hybrid poplar in a semi-arid environment in Eastern Oregon. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 17:46-53.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and M. Seddigh. 2002. Initial growth of irrigated hybrid poplar decreased by ground covers. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 17:61-65.

Shock, C.C. and E.B.G. Feibert. 2002. Deficit irrigation of potato. In P. Moutonnet (ed) Deficit Irrigation Practices. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Water Reports 22:47-55.

2. International presentations

Bertolino, A.V.F.A., A.P. Souza, N.F. Fernandes, A.M. Rangel, T.M.P. de Campos, and C.C. Shock. 2002. Monitoring the field soil matrix potential using mercury tensiometer and granular matrix sensors, Unsaturated Soils. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 2002), Recife, Brazil (ed. Jucá, J.F.T., de Campos, T.M.P. and Marinho, F.A.M.), Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger, Vol. 1, pp. 335-338.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders, and E.P. Eldredge. 2002. Automation of subsurface drip Irrigation for crop research. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. World Congress on Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Iguacu Falls, Brazil. pp. 809-816.

Shock, C.C., E.P. Eldredge, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Irrigation criteria and drip tape placement for 'Umatilla Russet' potato production. International Irrigation Show 2002 Proceedings, The Irrigation Association. New Orleans, LA. October 24-26. p 8.

Eldredge, E.P., C.C. Shock, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Early and late harvest potato cultivar response to drip irrigation. 26th International Horticultural Congress and Exhibition. Toronto, Canada. August. p 123 (abstract).

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, L.D. Saunders. 2002. Drip-irrigated onion more responsive to plant population than to fertilizer nitrogen. 26th International Horticultural Congress and Exhibition. Toronto, Canada. August. p 97-98 (abstract).

3.  Official Reports Designed For Growers

Refereed Oregon State University College of Agricultural Reports:

Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1039.

Campbell, C., M. Butler, P. Sexton, F. Crowe, and C.C. Shock. 2002. Drip Irrigation of Seed Onions in Central Oregon: Effect of Tape Placement on Disease and Yield. p 107-110.

Campbell, C., M. Butler, P. Sexton, F. Crowe, and C.C. Shock. 2002. Drip Irrigation of Seed Carrots in Central Oregon: Effect of Irrigation Threshold on Yield. p 111-114.

Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 1038.  Also available on the web at http://www.cropinfo.net/AnnualReports/2001/index.html

Shock, C.C., L.D. Saunders, F.L. Pettet, A.M. Sadowski, L.D. Saunders, and J. Klauzer. 2002. Relationship between Water Stress and Seed Yield of Two Drip-irrigated Alfalfa Varieties. p 27-38.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Plant Population and Nitrogen Fertilization for Subsurface Drip-irrigated Onions. p 71-80.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Micro-irrigation Alternatives for Hybrid Poplar Production, 2001 Trial. p 114-122.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Effect of Pruning Severity on the Annual Growth of Hybrid Poplar. p 123-128.

Shock, C.C., E.P. Eldredge, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Drip Irrigation Management Factors for 'Umatilla Russet' Potato Production. p 157-169.

Shock, C.C., E.P. Eldredge, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Drip-irrigated Red and Russet Potato Varieties Harvested Early or Late. p 170-177.

Shock, C.C., A. Corn, S. Jaderholm, L. Jensen, and C.A. Shock. 2002. Evaluation of the AM400 Soil Moisture Data Logger to Aid Irrigation Scheduling. p 252-261.

Shock, C.C., A. Corn, S. Jaderholm, L. Jensen, and C.A. Shock. 2002. Irrigation Scheduling in Long-term Buried Drip. p 257-261.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and S. Jaderholm. 2002. A Comparison of Six Soil Moisture Sensors. p 262-267.    

4. Web sites and web pages

W-128 Regional Micro Irrigation web site: Microirrigation Technologies for Protection of Natural Resources and Optimum Production. 2002. (This regional project web site was moved to the Malheur Experiment Station web site).  The site was edited and expanded). http://www.cropinfo.net/W-128/w128.html

Shock, C.C. and A. Nishihara. 2002. Malheur County Best Management Practices.   http://www.cropinfo.net/bestpractices/Malcountybmp.html  (This web pages was originally published in 2001, but has been substantially rewritten for users of the web in 2002).

Malheur Experiment Station web site  http://www.cropinfo.net/
Owyhee Watershed Virtual 5th Grade Field Day http://www.cropinfo.net/owyheefieldday.htm

5. Presentations to growers

Feibert, E. B. G., C. C. Shock, and L. D. Saunders. 2002. Improving irrigation efficiency for onions. Improving Irrigation Efficiency in Agriculture, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. March 21.

Shock, C. C. 2002. Construction and operation of a cost-effective SDI system for alfalfa seed production. Idaho/Oregon Alfalfa Seed Growers Winter Meeting, Nampa, ID. January 23.

Shock, C. C. 2002. Irrigation management in relation to potato and onion diseases. 2002 Intermountain Pest Management Seminar, Klamath Falls, OR. January 17.

Shock, C.C., E.B.G. Feibert, and L.D. Saunders. 2002. Plant Population and Nitrogen Fertilization for Subsurface Drip-irrigated Onions. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Malheur County Onion Growers and the Idaho Onion Growers, Ontario, OR. February.

Feibert, E.B.G. and C.C. Shock.  2002.  Can onion production benefit from ultra low flow tape?  Will this increase the yield of drip-irrigate onions?  What irrigation frequency is needed?  Malheur Experiment Station Field Day, July 10.

Shock, C.C., and E.B.G. Feibert.  2002.  Pruning and micro irrigation of poplar for saw logs and peeler logs.  Malheur Experiment Station Field Day, July 10.

Eldredge, E.P. and C.C. Shock. 2002.  Are there potato varieties more suitable for Malheur County production and early harvest than Shepody (grown under drip irrigation)?   Malheur Experiment Station Field Day, July 10.

Tishida, A., A. Akin, L. Unlenen, and C.C. Shock.  2002.  Monitoring soil moisture movement under low flow and ultra low flow drip tape and irrigation strategies for drip-irrigated potato. Malheur Experiment Station, July 10.

Jensen, L. and C.C. Shock.  2002.  AM 400 for irrigation scheduling.  Malheur Experiment Station Field Day, July 10.

Akin, A.I., L.A. Unlenen, C.C. Shock, A. Tschida. 2002. Fate of 15N stable isotope labeled urea in low flow and ultra low flow drip irrigated ‘Russet Burbank’ and ‘Umatilla Russet’ potatoes.  Malheur Experiment Station Field Day, July 10.