Program Focus Areas: Irrigation management, limited irrigation, and cover crops in the West Central District
Figure 1. Adapting irrigation management strategies to maxmize effciency for crop growth can help farms through periods of extreme weather variability, such as dry periods or droughts. (Photo by Chuck Burr)
Climate variability, including extended periods of dry conditions and sometimes drought, are common on the Great Plains. When managing under these extreme conditions, irrigators need to understand daily and seasonal crop water use patterns and adopt practices and technology that result in more bushels of grain per inch of water applied.
With planting wrapping up across the state, now is an excellent time to install soil water sensors and ETgages. Timely installation is important to gaining the true benefits of sensors: reduced irrigation costs, less nutrient leaching, and reduced chances of overwatering leading to anaerobic soil conditions. Find information on water and economic savings and tips for installing soil moisture sensors and ETgages.
Learn from some of the most successful corn growers in Nebraska at a June 27 UNL-TAPS field tour and project update at the West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte.
Now is a good time to do a quick evaluation of the pumping plant, well, and center pivot to ensure they are in good working order before you have to rely on them during the heat of the summer. Here are a few quick checks you can do to help ensure a successful irrigation season.
Field day participants will be able to view field pea varieties and learn about rotational benefits and agronomic practices to profitably grow field peas and integrate them with existing cropping systems.
Grain-type field peas are a cool season grain crop grown as an alternative for no-till summer fallow in a semiarid cereal-based cropping systems such as wheat-corn-fallow and/or wheat-fallow. They are typically planted in mid-March and harvested late-July. This article reports on research conducted on seeding practices and offers recommendations for producers on the economically optimal seeding rate, seeding depth, and inoculant to grow field peas in western Nebraska.
Research findings show benefits in soil nutrient cycling, water infiltration, and microbial activity from replacing fallow with grain-type field peas in a wheat-fallow rotation in western Nebraska.
A review of studies in the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network on the impacts of cover crops on subsequent corn and soybean yields at various locations in Nebraska.
