Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #259660
Title: Water Production Functions For High Plains Crops

Author
item Trout, Thomas
item Bausch, Walter
item Buchleiter, Gerald

Submitted to: USCID International Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2010
Publication Date: 9/28/2010
Citation: Trout, T.J., Bausch, W.C., Buchleiter, G.W. 2010. Water Production Functions For High Plains Crops. USCID International Conference:Meeting Irrigation Demands in a Water Challenged Enviroment

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Increasing demands on limited water supplies will require maximizing crop production per unit water. Field studies are being carried out near Greeley, Colorado to develop water production functions for crops grown in the Great Plains. These yield per unit water relationships can be used to determine if deficit irrigation is economically desirable and how to best manage limited water supplies. A field facility, the Limited Irrigation Research Farm, was developed specifically to carry out limited irrigation research. Irrigation water is applied through drip irrigation systems; precipitation and reference evapotranspiration (ET) is measured with a weather station; soil water content is measured with time-domain reflectometry (TDR) and neutron probes; canopy temperatures are monitored; and growth, ground cover, biomass, and yields are measured. Yields are related to irrigation applications, crop ET, and crop transpiration. Initial results with corn, sunflower, wheat, and dry beans show linear relationships between yield and crop ET and transpiration. Proceedings of USCID Conference: Meeting Irrigation Demands in a Water-Challenged Environment, Fort Collins, CO Sept 28 – Oct 1.