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Western cotton growers can now field-test the latest version of a
computer program, called CALGOS, for advice on how much water and nitrogen
fertilizer to apply--and when. This year, ARS offered the
experimental program to growers, farm advisors, consultants and other
researchers. Their suggestions will be used to fine-tune the program.
CALGOS simulates the growth of five of the leading western cotton
varieties. It will be suitable for growers who use furrow, drip or
overhead sprinkler irrigation. CALGOS gets its name from California,
frequently the nation's top cotton producer, and from Gossypium,
part of cotton's scientific name. It was produced by a visiting Israeli
scientist in cooperation with ARS researchers at Fresno and Shafter, CA.
To create CALGOS, they adapted a similar program, GOSSYM-COMAX, developed
by other ARS researchers and Mississippi State University colleagues.
CALGOS requires an IBM-compatible computer with Windows 3.1.
Water Management Research Laboratory, Fresno, CA
Avishalom Marani, (209) 453-3101
Twenty years of data is the basis for a prototype computer model that may
help reduce the amount of herbicide needed to zap velvetleaf weeds.
Velvetleaf, a major pest in U.S. corn and soybean fields, infests over 25
million acres of soybeans and costs $250 million annually to control. The
model can predict when it is practical and economical to use herbicides to
control the weed on fields where farmers rotate soybeans and corn. The
model relies on economic thresholds where a herbicide is used only when
the potential yield loss from weeds exceeds the control cost. It also
relies on biological controls like Verticillum spp wilt that work
with economic thresholds to reduce herbicide use. Simulations where
velvetleaf was infected with wilt in six out of 20 years indicated that
economic return would increase eight percent and the number of years
herbicides were necessary would be reduced 13 percent. By using the
threshold approach, farmers could increase their profits and lower the
number of herbicide applications with more innovative and environmentally
sound weed management.
National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames,
IA
Doug Buhler, (515) 294-5502,
Last updated: November 15, 1996
Return to: Quarterly Report
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