EFFECTS OF LEVELS OF MINIMUM AVAILABLE SOIL MOISTURE ON CROP YIELDS

1963 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Hobbs ◽  
K. K. Krogman ◽  
L. G. Sonmor
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Sweet Clover ◽  
Sugar Beets ◽  
Linear Decrease ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Available Soil Moisture ◽  
Cent Level ◽  
The Relationship

Eight crops commonly grown in southern Alberta were irrigated when available moisture within the root zone had been depleted to 75, 50, and 25 per cent levels. Over a 3-year period the yields of alfalfa, wheat, barley, sugar beets, corn, peas, and sweet clover reached a maximum at or below the 50 per cent level of minimum available soil moisture. Potatoes produced highest yields at the 75 per cent level. The relationship between availability of water to the crop and the amount of water in the soil was shown to be somewhere between the concepts of constant availability and linear decrease and was not consistent among the various crops.

LONG-TERM SOIL MOISTURE STATUS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. CHANG ◽  
T. G. SOMMERFELDT ◽  
T. ENTZ ◽  
D. R. STALKER
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Available Soil Moisture ◽  
Fallow Field ◽  
Water Recharge ◽  
Soil Water Recharge

Nineteen years of soil moisture content data at Lethbridge and two locations near Turin (Turin 1 and Turin 2) in southern Alberta were examined to evaluate the efficiency of follow for conserving moisture, and to calculate the long-term mean amount of water recharge during growing and nongrowing seasons under a fallow-cereal, 2-yr rotation and a continuous cropping system. Soil samples were taken annually from 1969 to 1987 to a depth of 120 cm in 30-cm intervals in the spring (early May) and fall (late September). A method for testing differences of means between nonstandard data using localized uncertainty associated with sliding polynomial smoothing was used to test for differences in the soil moisture contents due to cultural practices. The available soil moisture content of the soil to 120-cm depth was at least 50% of available water-holding capacity (AWHC) of the profile for the fallow treatment at Lethbridge and Turin 2, and, except in some years, at Turin 1. At seeding time, there was an average of 69 mm more available water (AW) in the fallow field than in the continuous cropping field at Lethbridge and 30, 35 and 27 mm more AW in the fallow field than in the fresh stubble field of a fallow-cereal, 2-yr rotation for Lethbridge, Turin 1 and Turin 2, respectively. The overall mean precipitation conserved as soil moisture for the fallow-cereal rotation practice was 23, 29 and 23% for Lethbridge, Turin 1 and Turin 2, respectively. The significantly higher soil water content at the 90- to 120-cm depth for the fallow field than for other fields during various periods of time indicates that the soil water recharge from precipitation might be deeper in the fallow field than in continuous cropping and fresh stubble of fallow-cereal rotation fields. The deeper soil water recharge could increase the available soil moisture for crop production and it could also contribute to ground water recharge. Key words: Soil water, available water content, continuous cropping, summerfallow

THE INFLUENCE OF LEVELS OF IRRIGATION ON THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF ALFALFA

1964 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Bezeau ◽  
L. G. Sonmor
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Available Soil Moisture

Samples of Ladak alfalfa were obtained over a 3-year period from fertilized plots which were irrigated at three levels, namely when available moisture within the root zone had been depleted to 75, 50, and 25% levels. The 3-year means of the 50% level of minimum available moisture were superior to both the 75% and the 25% levels in all criteria studied. The 50% level produced 19.8% more protein per acre, 32.8% more digestible cellulose per acre and the "nutritive value index" was 4.3% higher than the 25% level. The 50% level also produced 4.8% more protein per acre, 8.3% more digestible cellulose per acre, and the nutritive value index was 4.1% higher than the 75% level of minimum available soil moisture.

scholarly journals Impact of Soil Moisture on Crop Yields in Major Rainfed Growing Regions of Peninsular India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santanu Kumar Bal ◽  
H. S. Shivaramu ◽  
P. Vijaya Kumar ◽  
H. Lingaraj ◽  
V. M. Sandeep ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Finger Millet ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Peninsular India ◽  
Available Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Moisture Availability ◽  
Dry Farming ◽  
Stage Analysis

Abstract Assessment of soil moisture availability and timely declaration of drought are keys for exemplary relief assistance in water stressed regions. Percent available soil moisture (PASM) is one among several drought declaration indices, needs evaluation with respect to individual crop and cropping system, as the amount of water requirement varies with respect to crop and its growth stage. Analysis of yield variability due to PASM was carried out by employing correlation and linear regression analyses based on long term observations in experiments conducted at different dry farming locations of the peninsular India. The range of available soil moisture in order to obtain at least 50 per cent of optimum yield in cereals (maize: 26 and finger millet: 52.9 PASM), pulses (pigeonpea: 37.2 PASM), oilseeds (soybean: 26.8 to 30.5, groundnut: 53.8 to 61.7 PASM) and commercial crops (cotton: 26.3 PASM) was 26 to 61 per cent. Establishment of these regression models helped in timely drought declaration / precise identification of drought hit areas and assuring feasible relief assistance. The outcomes of the study may be used for amending the existing drought norms (0–50; severe, 50–75; mild and 75–100; no drought) for provision of proportionate compensations to the farmers.

Fertility investigations on the black earth wheatlands of the Darling Downs, Queensland. II. Moisture and evapotranspiration in relation to the wheat crop

1958 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 717 ◽  
Author(s):  
SA Waring ◽  
WE Fox ◽  
LJH Teakle
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Surface ◽  
Free Water ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Monthly Data ◽  
Surface Evaporation ◽  
Growing Period ◽  
Free Water Surface ◽  
Available Soil Moisture ◽  
The Relationship

The effects on wheat yields of available soil moisture at planting, rainfall during the growing period, and evapo-transpiration were examined for the years 1951-1954. The relation between free water surface evaporation, available soil moisture, and evapo-transpiration was examined for the years 1951 and 1952. Wheat yields were found to be correlated with available soil moisture at planting for the four years combined, the two drier years combined (1951 and l953), and the two wetter years combined (1952 and 1954). The relationship for the four years combined was sufficiently strong to suggest that available moisture at planting could be successfully used for yield prediction. Yield was correlated with evapo-transpiration only for the dry year 1953. The ratio of yield to evapo-transpiration was found to be lower for the years of high rainfall during the growing period, the mean values for the wet and dry years being 2.1 and 3.5 bus./in. respectively. Growing-perlod rainfall was correlated with yield only for the month of August for the two dry years of 1951 and 1953 combined. Evapotranspiration (Etr) was found to be correlated with free water surface evaporation (Ew) and Ew0.75 in the monthly data, the value for C in the relationship Etr = CEw0.75 being calculated as 0.53. Available soil moisture was correlated with evapo-transpiration using data from the beginning and end of the season in 1953, but was not correlated using monthly data. The method of calculating monthly available soil moisture is shown to be important in this correlation. A method of calculating available soil moisture over a monthly period, based on a mean daily figure for the month, is described.

Unsaturated water flux at mid and lower slope positions within an inclined landscape of the Dark Brown soil zone in southern Alberta

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Miller ◽  
D. S. Chanasyk
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Water Fluxes ◽  
Brown Soil ◽  
Soil Zone ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Lower Slope

Miller, J. J. and Chanasyk, A. S. 2015. Unsaturated water flux at mid and lower slope positions within an inclined landscape of the Dark Brown soil zone in southern Alberta. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 27–36. Little research has quantified vertical-unsaturated water flux below the root zone for mid and lower slope positions within inclined, low-relief, and longer-slope landscapes of the Dark Brown soil zone of the Canadian prairies. We measured soil moisture (0.23–1.22 m) in the field at mid and lower slope positions in southern Alberta from May to October in 1985 and 1986. Undisturbed soil cores were taken from soil horizons and saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil moisture retention were determined in the laboratory. Vertical-unsaturated water flux below the root zone was calculated between 1.07 and 1.22 m depths below ground surface using the hydraulic gradient method. Water fluxes for the 2 yr ranged from <10−11 to 10−10 m s−1 at the mid slope position, and from <10−11 m s−1 to 10−9 m s−1 at the lower slope position, and were consistent with some other studies. Cumulative water flux was dominantly downward (−2.2 to −3.4 mm) at the mid slope position and this flow direction was consistent with this Orthic Dark Brown Chernozemic soil that was located in a “recharge area”. Cumulative water flux was dominantly upward at the lower slope position in 1985 (1.4 mm) and dominantly downward but of very low magnitude in 1986 (−0.1 mm), and this flow direction was consistent with this saline Gleyed Regosol and “saline seep”. Cumulative water fluxes as a percentage of annual precipitation were 0.8 to 1.8% at the mid slope position and 0.3 to 0.5% at the lower slope position.

EFFECT OF IRRIGATED CROP ROTATIONS ON YIELD AND SOIL FERTILITY

1964 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Dubetz ◽  
K. W. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Green Manure ◽  
Sweet Corn ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sweet Clover ◽  
Sugar Beets ◽  
Irrigated Crops ◽  
The One ◽  
Soil Constituents

Crop yields and soil analyses were compared from three 4-year, two 5-year, and two 7-year rotations. The yields of potatoes from the seven rotations were not significantly different. Barley was grown in six rotations and the yields from these were not significantly different. The yield of sugar beets from the one rotation that did not receive any manure was significantly lower than those from the other six rotations. In the rotation in which sweet corn followed sweet clover green manure the yields were significantly lower than those from the other six rotations, where the corn followed sugar beets. This presumably was a result of the phytotoxicity of the decomposing clover. Good husbandry practices such as manure and fertilizer application evidently overshadow the effect of rotations on the yields of irrigated crops. The organic matter and nitrogen of the surface 6 in. of soil were maintained in the rotations that included 3 years of alfalfa or alfalfa–brome mixture. These soil constituents were not maintained with a single year of alfalfa or with a partial green manure crop.

scholarly journals Characteristics of droughts in Argentina's Core Crop Region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro Carlos Sgroi ◽  
Miguel Angel Lovino ◽  
Ernesto Hugo Berbery ◽  
Gabriela Viviana Müller
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Corn Yield ◽  
Drought Duration ◽  
Dry Spells ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. The current study advances the documentation of dry episodes over Argentina’s Core Crop Region, where the production of major crops like wheat, corn, and soybean is most intense and represents the main contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Our analysis focuses on the properties of droughts that include their magnitude, frequency at different time scales, duration, and severity. It is of interest to assess the relationship between those properties and the crop yields. We analyzed 40 years of precipitation and soil moisture at resolutions suitable for regional studies. The analysis of precipitation and soil moisture anomalies is complemented with the corresponding standardized indices estimated at time scales of 3- and 6-months. Most droughts tend to occur for periods shorter than three months, but a few can extend up to one year and fewer even longer. However, if a multiyear drought experienced breaks, each period would be considered a separate case. Analysis of the frequency distribution indicates that cases of water deficit conditions are more common than instances of water excess. As relevant as the drought duration is its timing and severity. Even short dry spells may have large impacts if they occur at the time of the critical growth period of a given crop. In the core crop region, corn yield is the most sensitive to drought severity. For these reasons, the quantification of severity during the crop-sensitive months is an indicator of what crop yields could be on the next campaign.

scholarly journals Impacts of hot-dry compound extremes on US soybean yields

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raed Hamed ◽  
Anne F. Van Loon ◽  
Jeroen Aerts ◽  
Dim Coumou
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Yield Variability ◽  
Soybean Yield ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Us ◽  
Dry Conditions

Abstract. The US agriculture system supplies more than one-third of globally-traded soybean and with 90 % of US soybean produced under rainfed agriculture, soybean trade is particularly sensitive to weather and climate variability. Average growing season climate conditions can explain about one-third of US soybean yield variability. Additionally, crops can be sensitive to specific short-term weather extremes, occurring in isolation or compounding at key moments throughout crop development. Here, we identify the dominant within-season climate drivers that can explain soybean yield variability in the US, and explore synergistic effects between drivers that can lead to severe impacts. The study combines weather data from reanalysis, satellite-based evapotranspiration and root-zone soil moisture with sub-national crop yields using statistical methods that account for interaction effects. Our model can explain on average about half of the year-to-year yield variability (60 % on all years and 40 % on out-of-sample predictions). The largest negative influence on soybean yields is driven by high temperature and low soil moisture during the summer crop reproductive period. Moreover, due to synergistic effects, heat is considerably more damaging to soybean crops during dry conditions, and less so during wet conditions. Compound and interacting hot and dry August conditions (defined by the 95th and 5th percentiles of temperature and soil moisture, respectively) reduce yields by 1.25 standard deviation. This sensitivity is, respectively, 6 and 3 times larger than the sensitivity to hot or dry conditions alone. Other important drivers of negative yield responses are lower evapotranspiration early in the season and lower minimum temperature late in the season, both likely reflecting an increased risk of frost. The sensitivity to the identified drivers varies across the spatial domain with higher latitudes, and thus colder regions, being less sensitive to hot-dry August months. Historic trends in identified drivers indicates that US soybean has generally benefited from recent shifts in weather. Overall warming conditions have reduced the risk of frost in early and late-season and potentially allowed for earlier sowing dates. More importantly, summers have been getting cooler and wetter over eastern US. Still, despite these positive changes, we show that the frequency of compound hot-dry August month has remained unchanged over 1946–2016. Moreover, in the longer term, climate models project substantially warmer summers for the continental US which likely creates risks for soybean production.

SEASONAL CONSUMPTIVE USE OF WATER BY CROPS GROWN IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO EVAPORATION

1963 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Sonmor
Keyword(s):  
Root Zone ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Pasture Grass ◽  
Sugar Beets ◽  
Row Crops ◽  
Consumptive Use ◽  
Class A ◽  
Southern Alberta

Irrigation water was applied to 13 crops, commonly grown in southern Alberta, whenever the available moisture within the root zone was depleted to the 75, 50, and 25 per cent levels during the seasonal growth period. The average consumptive use, associated with the maximum yield treatments, during this 12-year study, was highest for alfalfa and pasture grass (26 and 24 inches, respectively) and lowest for tomatoes and canning peas (14 and 13 inches, respectively). Other crops produced maximum yields with an average use of water, in inches, as follows: sugar beets, 22; potatoes, 20; soft wheat, 19; hard wheat, 18; oats and barley, 16; and flax and corn, 15. The range of water use data reported in this study is generally somewhat lower than the practical water requirements (including measured and estimated consumptive use) indicated in earlier reports by other investigators.The consumptive use-evaporation ratios were highest for forage crops and lowest for row crops. These relationships were determined for the 4-foot sunken pan, the class "A" pan, and the black Bellani plate atmometer.

scholarly journals Impact of Soil Moisture Data Characteristics on the Sensitivity to Crop Yields Under Drought and Excess Moisture Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Champagne ◽  
Jenelle White ◽  
Aaron Berg ◽  
Stephane Belair ◽  
Marco Carrera
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Surface Soil Moisture ◽  
Short Baseline ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Soil Moisture Data ◽  
The Relationship

Soil moisture is often considered a direct way of quantifying agricultural drought since it is a measure of the availability of water to support crop growth. Measurements of soil moisture at regional scales have traditionally been sparse, but advances in land surface modelling and the development of satellite technology to indirectly measure surface soil moisture has led to the emergence of a number of national and global soil moisture data sets that can provide insight into the dynamics of agricultural drought. Droughts are often defined by normal conditions for a given time and place; as a result, data sets used to quantify drought need a representative baseline of conditions in order to accurately establish a normal. This presents a challenge when working with earth observation data sets which often have very short baselines for a single instrument. This study assessed three soil moisture data sets: a surface satellite soil moisture data set from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission operating since 2010; a blended surface satellite soil moisture data set from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) that has a long history and a surface and root zone soil moisture data set from the Canadian Meteorology Centre (CMC)’s Regional Deterministic Prediction System (RDPS). An iterative chi-squared statistical routine was used to evaluate each data set’s sensitivity to canola yields in Saskatchewan, Canada. The surface soil moisture from all three data sets showed a similar temporal trend related to crop yields, showing a negative impact on canola yields when soil moisture exceeded a threshold in May and June. The strength and timing of this relationship varied with the accuracy and statistical properties of the data set, with the SMOS data set showing the strongest relationship (peak X2 = 170 for Day of Year 145), followed by the ESA-CCI (peak X2 = 89 on Day of Year 129) and then the RDPS (peak X2 = 65 on Day of Year 129). Using short baseline soil moisture data sets can produce consistent results compared to using a longer data set, but the characteristics of the years used for the baseline are important. Soil moisture baselines of 18–20 years or more are needed to reliably estimate the relationship between high soil moisture and high yielding years. For the relationship between low soil moisture and low yielding years, a shorter baseline can be used, with reliable results obtained when 10–15 years of data are available, but with reasonably consistent results obtained with as few as 7 years of data. This suggests that the negative impacts of drought on agriculture may be reliably estimated with a relatively short baseline of data.

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