Xiaomao Lin

Current irrigation practices in the central United States reduce drought and extreme heat impacts for maize and soybean, but not for wheat

In this study, we assessed the adaptive effects of irrigation on climatic risks for three crops (maize, soybean, and wheat) at the regional scale from 1981 to 2012 in the Central US. Based on yields of 183 counties for maize, 121 for soybean and 101 for wheat, statistical models were developed for irrigated, rainfed and county-level yields. Results show that irrigation has a statistically significant effect on abating detrimental climate impacts, specifically drought and extreme heat, in maize and soybean but not in wheat. On average, irrigation reduces the negative influences of extreme heat by around 7.2% for maize and 5.0% for soybean yields for each additional 10 degree-days above the optimal temperature for each crop. This is approximately two-thirds of the negative effects of extreme heat under rainfed management. The remaining third of the yield reduction is caused by heat damage that cannot be alleviated by irrigation. No significant differences were detected between county yields and irrigated yields for maize and soybean, suggesting that the existing irrigation practices were reasonably efficient. Efforts to mitigate future climate risks for these two crops should focus on improving the heat sensitivity contributing to the yield losses from heat damage. In contrast, the existing irrigation does not improve the resilience of wheat to climate risks. Both increased temperature and drought were critical to wheat production, which was potentially caused by relatively poor irrigation supplies for wheat. Further enhancement of wheat yield may be possible through improved irrigation management.

Assessing future drought impacts on yields based on historical irrigation reaction to drought for four major crops in Kansas.

Evaluation of how historical irrigation reactions can adapt to future drought is indispensable to irrigation policy, however, such reactions are poorly quantified. In this paper, county-level irrigation data for maize, soybean, grain sorghum, and wheat crops in Kansas were compiled. Statistical models were developed to quantify changes of irrigation and yields in response to drought for each crop. These were then used to evaluate the ability of current irrigation to cope with future drought impacts on each crop based on an ensemble Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) prediction under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 scenario. Results indicate that irrigation in response to drought varies by crop; approximately 10 to 13% additional irrigation was applied when PDSI was reduced by one unit for maize, soybean, and grain sorghum. However, the irrigation reaction for wheat exhibits a large uncertainty, indicating a weaker irrigation reaction. Analysis of future climate conditions indicates that maize, soybean, and grain sorghum yields would decrease 2.2-12.4% at the state level despite additional irrigation application induced by drought (which was expected to increase 5.1-19.0%), suggesting that future drought will exceed the range that historical irrigation reactions can adapt to. In contrast, a lower reduction (-0.99 to -0.63%) was estimated for wheat yields because wetter climate was projected in the central section of the study area. Expanding wheat areas may be helpful in avoiding future drought risks for Kansas agriculture.

Assessing satellite-based start-of-season trends in the US High Plains

To adequately assess the effects of global warming it is necessary to address trends and impacts at the local level. This study examines phenological changes in the start-of-season (SOS) derived from satellite observations from 1982–2008 in the US High Plains region. The surface climatebased SOS was also evaluated. The averaged profiles of SOS from 37° to 49°N latitude by satellite- and climate-based methods were in reasonable agreement, especially for areas where croplands were masked out and an additional frost date threshold was adopted. The statistically significant trends of satellite-based SOS show a later spring arrival ranging from 0.1 to 4.9 days decade �1 over nine Level III ecoregions. We found the croplands generally exhibited larger trends (later arrival) than the non-croplands. The area-averaged satellite-based SOS for noncroplands (i.e. mostly grasslands) showed no significant trends. We examined the trends of temperatures, precipitation, and standardized precipitation index (SPI), as well as the strength of correlation between the satellite-based SOS and these climatic drivers. Our results indicate that satellite-based SOS trends are spatially and primarily related to annual maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, mostly in summertime) and/or annual minimum NDVI (mostly in wintertime) and these trends showed the best correlation with six-month SPI over the period 1982–2008 in the US High Plains region.

Cover Crop System to Control Charcoal Rot in Soybeans

This research compares methods of controlling charcoal rot in soybean cultivars from three maturity groups commonly grown in southeast Kansas. The results indicate that a mustard plant that produces high levels of glucosinolates can be used as a cover crop to reduce the charcoal rot disease in soybeans.

Crop Production Summary, Southeast Kansas – 2017

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2015 Soybean Production in Southeast Kansas

Crop performance and yield varies as a function of the growing environment and soil properties within the field. Optimal soybean planting in southeast Kansas usually occurs from mid-May to mid-June for full-season or late-June to early-July for doublecropped soybean. Planting is timed to capture fall rains and cooler temperatures during critical periods of bean development and yield formation and avoid mid-summer heat and drought. Changing planting configuration (row spacing and plant population), timing of planting, and cultivar selection are methods of optimizing soybean production for different growing environments.

Improving Corn Production in Southeast Kansas

Corn performance and yield varies as a function of the growing environment and soil properties. Components contributing to yield in corn were examined through on-farm measurements of soil properties in southeast Kansas. Environmental variability between the 2013, 2014, and 2015 growing seasons contributed to changes in yield. Management can also impact the amount of harvested yield.

Identification of Yield-Limiting Factors in Southeast Kansas Cropping Systems

This report is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. Copyright January 2015 Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.