Nesson Valley Irrigation Project

 Irrigation Research at Nesson Valley 2009

Tyler Tjelde¹

Greetings, well another growing season has seemed to fly by, but one that didn’t go unnoticed.  It was an interesting year and there were many things accomplished and discovered at the Nesson Valley irrigation site.  Again this year we were reminded of the importance of proper varietal selection, pest and irrigation management, and handling what Mother Nature deals us.

Expanding research…..…

This year we had the use of another automated variable rate linear irrigation system. There are now two linear systems automated and the final one is scheduled to be converted for automation beginning the 2011 growing season.  These variable rate systems allow us to apply different rates of water to the variety of crops grown under each linear system.

Different water sources……..

The lake level finally was high enough to allow us to pump from it this year.  If the level is maintained research will be conducted comparing the two sources of water (well and lake) in 2010.  We will need to decide how to incorporate both water sources and what we want to research.  We would like to determine how each water source affects the soil properties, disease occurrence and any water temperature related issues that could alter plant growth. 

2009 research projects……..

The projects that were conducted at Nesson Valley during the 2009 season included, Watering treatment studies (potatoes, sugarbeets, barley, wheat, safflower), Tillage study (corn, soybean, barley rotation), Crop rotation, Crop variety trials (barley, corn, dry edible beans, flax,  oats, peas, potato, soybeans, sunflower, durum and spring wheat), Plant population/seed spacing (corn, soybean, sunflower, wheat), Fertilizer rates (wheat, barley), Breeding programs (barley and potato), Foundation seed increases (barley, durum, spring wheat, winter wheat, crambe), Switchgrass/biomass production for bio-fuels, and testing the North Dakota Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) irrigation scheduling system.  Some of these projects are not published in this Ag update but information can be obtained by contacting the Williston Research Extension Center.

Field day……..

This year we had our first field day tour at the irrigation site.  There was a very nice turnout.  The tour displayed our current research and future research plans.   The date for the 2010 Nesson Valley field tour is set for July 29^th 2010.  Look forward to seeing you there!

Our vision at the Nesson Valley site is to further advance irrigation practices, improve crop production within an irrigated system and develop alternative cropping systems to improve water, nutrient and pest management.  I encourage producers to contact me if you have any questions on what we are currently researching. I would also encourage anyone to share any ideas they may have for irrigated research so we can advance agronomic productivity for this region.  Our goal is to improve production for you!

Comparing Tillage Systems (conventional, minimum, no-till) With Overhead Irrigation Using a 3 Year Crop Rotation of Corn, Soybean, and Barley (Nesson Valley 2009). 

Objectives

This project examines the interaction between tillage systems and soil quality and the interaction between crop production and tillage to better understand the benefits of overhead irrigation on production and tillage.  Questions that we hope to answer include how tillage is going to affect the quality of our soil and will this soil quality affect crop production when irrigation is involved.  What are the benefits of selecting the proper tillage to match the specific crop?  With things constantly changing, how can the interrelationships between crop rotation/production and tillage systems be defined?

Methods

Plots strips were 50 feet by 200 feet and replicated four times in a randomized block design. Fertilizer was spring-applied at recommended rates determined by soil testing. Weeds were managed with herbicides to minimize their impact on production. Percent residue cover, soil temperature, stand counts, grain yield, proteins, and test weights were measured.  Tillage was done in the spring.  Conventional tillage consisted of disking (2 passes) and field cultivator (2 passes) resulting in <30 % residue left.  Minimum tillage varied based on previous crop.  Corn residue was aggressively disked (5mph) cutting at a depth of 4 inches while still maintaining >30% residue cover.  Barley residue was also disked but ground speed and depth were reduced to maintain the > 30% residue cover.  A field cultivator was used to till the soil in soybean residue, leaving most of the residue on the soil surface.  Only trash wipers (residue managers) were used in the no till system to move residue from seed row.

Results

Previous crop: barley

Previous crop: corn

Previous crop: soybean

¹NDSU Williston Research Extension Center – Nesson Valley