March 19, 2010

Tim Shaver, the new nutrient management specialist at UNL’s West Central Research and Extension Center, is looking forward to his first season of research and extension programming in the region.

As a Colorado State University research associate, Shaver had been involved with research in eastern Colorado for the past 10 years on dryland and limited irrigation crop production and precision agriculture, mostly with corn and wheat. At the WCREC, he plans to build on that foundation to study nutrient management for crops in water-limited environments, addressing one of the key challenges to crop production in the area.

One of his first research projects will study soil quality and nutrition, water infiltration, and other factors under various no-till management systems, including a comparison of no-till skip row and traditional no-till production in corn.

Another project will look at crop canopy-based nitrogen management using remote sensors that measure light reflectance from the plant canopy to determine plant nitrogen requirements. These measurements can then be used to customize fertilizer applications, helping producers apply just what’s needed, where it’s needed.

“The technology is still pretty expensive, as is most precision agriculture,” Shaver said, but it pays benefits in reducing unnecessary nitrogen applications and limiting the potential for leaching nitrogen into groundwater.

While the technology is mostly used for nitrogen management, Shaver said he also plans to research its application for precision water management.

To facilitate timely extension of research results to growers, Shaver, like most UNL extension specialists, has a split appointment with 50% in research and 50% in extension.

Soil and Crop Science

When Shaver left home for college, he planned to study geology, but after his first soils class, “I was hooked. Between soil science and agronomy, you get to do all the sciences – biology, chemistry, and physics.”

While some might look at a field and see dirt, Shaver looks at it and sees an intriguing set of interrelationships between plants and soil that affords unlimited opportunities for research that can lead to improved nutrient and water management.

And, he says, UNL’s West Central REC is an excellent location for pursuing this work.

“There really are no limitations to the research and types of topics that can be studied,” Shaver said. “There are great research opportunities here and at the West Central Water Resources Field Laboratory near Brule. It’s impressive how much land is available (at the laboratory) to work with.”

Education and Research

Shaver, a native of Aurora, Colo., received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Colorado State University where he studied soil and crop sciences. His M.S. research focused on dryland farming in eastern Colorado where he examined how different cropping rotations and residue biomass additions affected soil aggregation and subsequent porosity and water infiltration. His Ph.D. research focused on nutrient management using precision agriculture technology such as crop canopy sensors and variable rate nutrient applicators in irrigated corn production.

While working on these projects he had the opportunity to conduct research within a variety of crop rotations in dryland, limited and fully irrigated systems under conventional and no-till management. The focus of this research was on maximizing water and nutrient use efficiency and overall agronomic production under rainfed and limited irrigation systems.

Shaver, who moved to North Platte in fall 2009, said he has been impressed with the University and the level of support for the University from growers and agribusiness in the area. While his initial research projects will be conducted on UNL research fields, he said he hopes to eventually be able to work with producers conducting on-farm research projects.

Lisa Jasa
CropWatch Editor