In this Issue:
GUEST ARTICLE
Plan Your Irrigation Scheduling with Daily Crop “ET”
VEGETABLE NEWS
STRAWBERRY NEWS
Strawberry Weekly Pest Sampling Data
APPLE NEWS
Apple Pest Profile: Dogwood Borer (Synanthedon scitula)
Please note – there will be NO IPM Newsletter on Friday, June 16th. We'll be back in 2 weeks!
| Vol 3 No. 5 | June 9, 2006 |
Plan Your Irrigation Scheduling with Daily Crop “ET”
Jerry Wright, University of Minnesota Extension Service
Daily crop ET information can be used by Minnesota irrigators to help plan irrigation scheduling. This information is currently available for the 2006 season and can be easily obtained from the internet by one of the web pages listed below or contacting one of the following local ET service providers:
Minnesota & Wisconsin (reference) Crop ET at: www.soils.wisc.edu/wimnext/
East Ottertail County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), 218-346-4260
Hubbard County SWCD , 218 - 732-0121
Sherburne County SWCD, 763-241-1170 or at: www.sherburneswcd.org/
U of M – West Central Research & Outreach Center , Morris , MN , 320-589-1711
North Dakota Ag Weather & Crop ET at: www.ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu/
The Minnesota and Wisconsin ET web page presents daily colored coded maps like the map to the right, each day of the week; and it displays a reasonable estimation of the potential ET value across the state based on the actual weather conditions of that day. Potential ET values are very similar to the actual daily crop ET when a crop is at full canopy.
The daily values from the web site can also be sent directly to a user by e-mail each day for a given field site within the map area if requested over the web site .
To estimate the daily ET value for a crop before full canopy or near maturity the ET value must be taken times a crop coefficient (Kco) constant that may range from .25 to 1.0 depending on the growth stage of the specific crop. Generally, for annual crops, the correction factor starts out around .25 and increases to 1.0 or greater as the plant nears full canopy and then holds this Kco value until the plant starts to mature. As a crop matures, some crop types will have their actual ET decrease slightly each day as they come to maturity, hence the crop correction factor will go from 1.0 to maybe as low as .40 as the leaves senesce and reach maturity. Crop coefficients for specific crops can be obtained from Jerry Wright, Extension Engineer at jwright@umn.edu.
Keeping track of the crop's daily ET use and regular in-field soil moisture checking can go a long ways in helping an operator optimize the crop's growth while reducing the potential for leaching of some crop inputs like nitrogen into the groundwater.
These daily ET values best serve the user if recorded down on a calendar log like an irrigation checkbook worksheet or computer spreadsheet for quick reference when making your irrigation decisions. Consider assigning the updating task to one of the younger members of your family.
Irrigation checkbook spreadsheets can be found on University of Minnesota Extension website at www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC1322.html
or one can purchase a computerized spreadsheet version of the Checkbook for $35 from the WCROC office at Morris. An alternative version of a checkbook spreadsheet can be also downloaded from the Wisconsin ET web site.
For more information on how to use daily crop ET information contact Jerry Wright, Extension Engineer at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris , MN at 320-589 -1711 or jwright@umn.edu or your local Extension or SWCD office.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison (hutch002@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Management and Development Division, and Suzanne Wold-Burkness (woldx018@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota
The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Wednesday to Jean Ciborowski, 651-201-6217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us, MDA, 625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN 55155-2538. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf format at: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/ipm/ipmnews/
Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (MFVGA) and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA). These institutions are equal opportunity providers.
DISCLAIMER
Reference to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.
The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer. ©1999-2006 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.