Water Use and Grain Yield in Drought-Tolerant Corn in the Texas High Plains

Abstract.Corn ( L.) for grain continues to be an important crop for livestock feed in the Texas High Plains (THP) region despite lackluster prices. It offers greater crop water productivity compared with other crops grown in the region but also has a relatively high water requirement, which must be met by irrigation. The sole water resource in the region is the Ogallala Aquifer, which is declining because withdrawals exceed recharge, and this is of major concern. Producers are interested in the performance of drought-tolerant (DT) corn, but data on DT crop production functions are limited. From 2015 to 2017, studies of DT corn response to different irrigation treatments were conducted in the THP at Bushland, Texas. Results showed that grain yields, seasonal evapotranspiration (ETc), and crop water use efficiency (WUE) varied significantly between seasons and among different DT hybrids. Comparisons between a mid-season (MS) and an early-maturing (EM) hybrid showed: (1) at the severe deficit irrigation treatment level, grain yields were low, but the EM hybrid produced 400% more grain; (2) at the moderate deficit irrigation treatment level, grain yields and ETc were similar; and (3) at the full irrigation treatment level, the EM hybrid required 75 mm less water, but it produced 24% less grain. Non-hail damaged MS DT corn produced grain yields that were numerically greater than conventional corn grown in the THP in an optimal year. However, during drought seasons, DT hybrid response was not improved over conventional hybrids under severe deficit irrigation. This study demonstrated that MS DT corn hybrid P1151AM, irrigated at a level that fully met evapotranspiration demand, resulted in grain yield and WUE levels that were near the upper limits for corn produced in the THP. Further research is needed to determine the constancy of response among different DT hybrids under favorable and drought conditions. Keywords: Center pivot, Deficit irrigation, Early-maturing corn, Hail damage, Mid-season corn, Variable-rate irrigation, Water use efficiency.

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Relationships Between Early Wheat Streak Mosaic Severity Levels and Grain Yield: Implications for Management Decisions

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-02-17-0176-re ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 101 (9) ◽

pp. 1621-1626 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

F. Workneh ◽

S. O’Shaughnessy ◽

S. Evett ◽

C. M. Rush

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Disease Severity ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Regression Function ◽

High Plains ◽

Management Decisions ◽

Texas High Plains ◽

Severity Levels ◽

The Impact

Wheat streak mosaic (WSM) caused by Wheat streak mosaic virus, which is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella), is a major yield-limiting disease in the Texas High Plains. In addition to its impact on grain production, the disease reduces water-use efficiency by affecting root development. Because of the declining Ogallala Aquifer water level, water conservation has become one of the major pressing issues in the region. Thus, questions are often raised as to whether it is worthwhile to irrigate infected fields in light of the water conservation issues, associated energy costs, and current wheat prices. To address some of these questions, field experiments were conducted in 2013 and 2016 at two separate locations to determine whether grain yield could be predicted from disease severity levels, assessed early in the spring, for potential use as a decision tool for crop management, including irrigation. In both fields, disease severity assessments started in April, using a handheld hyperspectral radiometer with which reflectance measurements were taken weekly in multiple plots in arbitrarily selected locations across the fields. The relationship between WSM severity levels and grain yield for the different assessment dates were determined by fitting reflectance and yield values into the logistic regression function. The model predicted yield levels with r2 values ranging from 0.67 to 0.85 (P < 0.0001), indicating that the impact of WSM on grain yield could be fairly well predicted from early assessments of WSM severity levels. As the disease is normally progressive over time, this type of information will be useful for making management decisions of whether to continue irrigating infected fields, especially if combined with an economic threshold for WSM severity levels.

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WATER USE AND CONSERVATION AT TEXAS HIGH PLAINS BEEF CATTLE FEEDYARDS

Applied Engineering in Agriculture ◽

10.13031/2013.4986 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 77-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

D. B. Parker ◽

L. J. Perino ◽

B. W. Auvermann ◽

J. M. Sweeten

Keyword(s):

Beef Cattle ◽

Water Use ◽

High Plains ◽

Texas High Plains

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Yields, Fruit Quality, and Water Use in a Jalapeno Pepper and Tomatoes under Open Field and High-tunnel Production Systems in the Texas High Plains

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci15143-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 55 (10) ◽

pp. 1632-1641

Author(s):

Hyungmin Rho ◽

Paul Colaizzi ◽

James Gray ◽

Li Paetzold ◽

Qingwu Xue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Production Systems ◽

Severe Weather ◽

High Plains ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Crop Water ◽

High Tunnel ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Texas High Plains ◽

High Winds

The Texas High Plains has a semi-arid, hot, windy climate that features high evapotranspiration (ET) demands for crop production. Irrigation is essential for vegetable production in the region, but it is constrained by depleting groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer. High-tunnel (HT) production systems may reduce irrigation water demand and protect crops from severe weather events (e.g., hail, high wind, freezing) common to the region. The objective of this study was to compare yields, fruit quality, crop water use, and crop water use efficiency (WUE) of jalapeno pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in HT and open field (OF) production systems. We hypothesized that the protection from dry and high winds by HT would improve yields and quality of fruits and reduce water use of peppers and tomatoes. During the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons, peppers and tomatoes were transplanted on two HT plots and two identical OF plots. Plastic mulch was used in combination with a surface drip irrigation system. Micrometeorological variables (incoming solar irradiance, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) and soil physical variables (soil temperature and volumetric soil water) were measured. Air temperatures were significantly higher during the daytime, and wind speed and light intensity were significantly lower in HT compared with OF. Despite the lower light intensity, yields were greater in HT compared with OF. The fruits grown in HT did not show significant differences in chemical quality attributes, such as ascorbic acid and lycopene contents, compared with those grown in OF. Because of protection from dry, high winds, plants in HT required less total water over the growing seasons compared with OF, resulting in increased WUE. The 2018 and 2019 data showed that HT production is advantageous as compared to conventional OF production in terms of increased WUE and severe weather risk mitigation for high-value vegetable production in the Texas High Plains.

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Effects of Quality Considerations and Climate/Weather Information on the Management and Profitability of Cotton Production in the Texas High Plains

Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics ◽

10.1017/s1074070800009317 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 561-583 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Megan L. Britt ◽

Octavio A. Ramirez ◽

Carlos E. Carpio

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Production Systems ◽

High Plains ◽

Cotton Production ◽

Cotton Lint ◽

Weather Information ◽

Irrigation Water Use ◽

Texas High Plains ◽

Seed Yields

Production function models for cotton lint yields, seed yields, turnout, and lint quality characteristics are developed for the Texas High Plains. They are used to evaluate the impacts of quality considerations and of climate/weather information on the management decisions and on the profitability and risk of irrigated cotton production systems. It is concluded that both quality considerations and improved climatic/weather information could have substantial effects on expected profitability and risk. These effects mainly occur because of changes in optimal variety selection and irrigation water use levels. Quality considerations in particular result in significantly lower irrigation water use levels regardless of the climate/weather information assumption, which has important scarce-resource use implications for the Texas High Plains.

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Comparison of Lysimeter-Derived Crop Coefficients for Legacy and Modern Drought-Tolerant Maize Hybrids in the Texas High Plains

Transactions of the ASABE ◽

10.13031/trans.13924 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (5) ◽

pp. 1243-1257

Author(s):

Gary W. Marek ◽

Thomas H. Marek ◽

Steven R. Evett ◽

Jourdan M. Bell ◽

Paul D. Colaizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Crop Coefficient ◽

Irrigation Scheduling ◽

High Plains ◽

List Type ◽

Season Length ◽

Planting Dates ◽

Corn Hybrids ◽

Drought Tolerant ◽

Crop Coefficients

HighlightsDaily maximum crop coefficient (Kc) values were similar for legacy hybrids and a modern drought-tolerant (DT) hybrid.Later planting dates for a DT hybrid resulted in average season lengths ~25 days shorter than those of legacy hybrids.Results illustrated the effects of environment, planting date, interannual variation in temperature, and the importance of climate-specific Kc functions.DT hybrids may be more effective at reproductive growth during periods of heat stress in semi-arid environments, although additional data are needed to support this conclusion.Abstract. Corn (Zea mays L.) is a major irrigated crop grown in the Southern High Plains including the Texas Panhandle. Irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer is required to sustain profitable corn production in the region by supplementing inadequate and erratic rainfall. Effective irrigation scheduling works to extend limited groundwater resources by avoiding water losses associated with runoff and/or percolation below the root zone. The use of crop coefficient (Kc) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) values to estimate daily crop water use (ETc) remains an effective scheduling tool that can complement other irrigation scheduling approaches. Both Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-56) piecewise and curvilinear Kc values for corn are found in the literature. However, advances in corn genetics have led to questions about the applicability of Kc values developed using legacy corn hybrids to irrigation of modern drought-tolerant (DT) hybrids. Lysimeter-derived Kc values for legacy corn hybrids grown in large weighing lysimeter fields at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas, were compared with those derived from a modern DT corn hybrid recently grown in the same fields. Results indicated that although midseason daily Kc values were similar for all hybrids, average season length was ~25 days shorter for the modern DT hybrid, characterized by a shortened initial growth period followed by more rapid increase of Kc during the development period. However, plots of Kc over thermal time illustrated that the differences in season length were likely attributable to later planting dates associated with the DT corn hybrids. Average seasonal water use was 730 and 811 mm for the legacy and modern DT hybrids, respectively (three years each), with corresponding average yields of 1.2 and 1.4 kg ha-1. Results suggest that published Kc and Kcb values developed with legacy corn hybrids remain largely applicable to modern DT corn hybrids when used with accurate estimates of effective canopy-based growth stages and climate-specific Kc functions. Keywords: Crop coefficients, Drought-tolerant, Evapotranspiration, Maize, Weighing lysimeters.

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Energy, water, and economic savings of improved production systems on the Texas High Plains

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0889189300003313 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 69-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sharif M. Masud ◽

Ronald D. Lacewell

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Water Use ◽

Diesel Fuel ◽

Distribution Systems ◽

Energy Use ◽

Production Systems ◽

High Plains ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

Net Returns ◽

Texas High Plains

AbstractThe purpose of this paper was to quantify economic and energy use implications of new improved irrigation and limited tillage production systems for the Texas High Plains. Per hectare uses of natural gas and electricity under alternative irrigation distribution systems for corn, sorghum, wheat, cotton, and soybeans were utilized to estimate total amounts of natural gas and electricity used in the production of these crops on the High Plains of Texas. The amount of diesel fuel used was estimated for conventional and limited tillage systems under dryland and irrigation production. Total amounts of water used for the five crops under the improved and conventional irrigation systems were also estimated for the High Plains. Results indicated improved irrigation and limited tillage systems reduced energy and water use on the High Plains. Total natural gas and electricity were estimated to decline over 20 percent, diesel fuel declined 32 percent, and water use for irrigation declined about 23 percent. Use of the improved irrigation and limited tillage production systems was also shown to significantly increase annual net returns to farmers ($40.0 million or 13.3 percent).

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