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Thursday, June 25, 1998 Last modified at 4:26 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 1998
Tech makes big waves in irrigation
Techniques aim to help area farmers save water
By KARA ALTENBAUMER
Two irrigation techniques developed on Texas Tech farms may help save water on the South Plains.
Researchers from Tech and the federal Agriculture Depart-ment are applying for a patent on a thermal mapping process that helps farmers locate hot spots in their fields that need special irrigation attention.
Infrared thermometers are attached to irrigation equipment. As machinery circles a field, the thermometers register temperature in individual areas. That information is transmitted to a computer, which draws a map of the region, telling farmers where water is needed.
''If it's hotter than the optimum (temperature) for longer than a well-watered plant would be, then we irrigate,'' said Dan Upchurch, who will direct a new plant stress and soil conservation lab on Tech land. The lab will combine federal agricultural research with that of Tech and Texas A&M University when it opens in January.
The thermometers cost about $200 apiece, fairly inexpensive if you consider the money saved by skipping a single irrigation cycle, Upchurch said. ''In West Texas, we grow our crops without full irrigation. The question is can I ever skip an irrigation?''
Farmers could save hundreds of dollars with each irrigation cycle they skip, he said. With irrigation costs ranging from $5 to $10 per acre inch, Upchurch said that could mean anywhere from $600 to $1,200 in savings for each 120-acre quarter section not irrigated.''Water is the most valuable component (on the South Plains),'' he said.
''Clearly the water we pump out of the Ogallala, we have an obligation to use effectively,'' Upchurch said. ''We must not waste water.''
John Burke, a plant physiologist who leads the Agriculture Department's plant stress and germplasm research group in Lubbock, said depending on the size of an irrigation pivot, it may circle a field 10 times in a growing season. Skipping one of those reduces costs by one-tenth.
''It provides the water when the plant needs it the most,'' he said. ''In the long run you end up saving water on the High Plains.
''At this rate, the farmer doesn't know when to stop watering.''
The second technique ? BIOTIC ? uses knowledge about what temperatures are best for plants to make irrigation systems. Field temperatures are monitored. Once a certain temperature is reached, irrigation systems are turned on.
Researchers have been trying to market BIOTIC for two years with no luck. Part of the problem, they say, is the conflicting philosophies on irrigation. ''Every farmer has their own unique perspective on irrigation,'' Burke said. ''From our point of view, BIOTIC is advantageous because it's biologically based.''
But Dick Auld, chairman of Tech's plant and soil science department, said it's ''more common than uncommon'' for the market to lag behind new technology.
''There's a lot of frustration anytime you try to market a new product,'' he said. ''That's not uncommon for a variety of things from chemical engineering to agricultural research.''
A number of factors can slow down the marketing process, Auld said.
''Either there are still bugs in (the product) that need to be worked out, or sometimes the industry is not ready,'' he said.
''It helps to get your industry partners when you begin the research.''
Projects like thermal mapping and BIOTIC go directly from ''basic physiology of plants to implementation,'' Upchurch said.
The difference between the two is that BIOTIC registers an average field temperature, while thermal mapping leans more toward precision farming because it monitors specific portions of a field.