Improved water use efficiencies in irrigated agriculture are necessary to assist in coping with the accelerating demand and economic competition for the world's fresh water supply and increasing ecological concerns. This will likely rely in part on optimum irrigation, which implies regulated deficit irrigation. While conventional irrigation management is intended...
Often furrow irrigation application efficiencies are low compared to sprinkler systems. The primary goal of furrow irrigation is to infiltrate a relatively uniform target depth of water necessary for the crop, while minimizing the amount of runoff. The concept is difficult because water can infiltrate differently at all locations in...
Introduction of later maturing cultivars of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) places more seed production fields in a period of drought common to Oregon during vital stages of reproductive development. During these stages, the final yield of the crop is largely determined by the number of seeds set, and the...
Later maturing cultivars and increased ability to apply irrigation have led to inquiries by producers about proper irrigation management in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) seed crops. The literature reveals little information about irrigation of perennial grass seed crops in general, and none about tall fescue in particular. Willamette Valley...
Precision irrigation has made spatially explicit water management a reality. However, detailed knowledge about the spatially variable evapotranspiration is often unavailable. One example location where we can begin to understand the impact of spatial variability on evapotranspiration is at the field edge, which contains a sharp discontinuity in surface conditions....
There is limited information available on production of trailing blackberry, particularly certified organic plantings, which are of interest to growers as there is increased consumer demand and a price premium over conventionally-produced fruit. Various production strategies were evaluated for their effect on yield, biomass production, carbon (C), and nutrient concentrations...
Agricultural water supplies are becoming increasingly uncertain in the western United States due to rising demand from competing water users, environmental restrictions on surface water withdrawals due to water quality and endangered species concerns, and, potentially, climate-induced hydrological changes. Since many rural areas in the West depend economically upon irrigated...
Surface transient storage (STS) in stream ecosystems serve an important function in retaining nutrients and refugia for aquatic communities. Unfortunately, they can retain contaminants as well. Therefore, it is of importance to determine the residence time distribution (RTD). A RTD of a particular STS zone encompasses the time it takes...
Veratrum californicum (common name: corn lily) is a wild plant species that grows in the Intermountain West, its range extending from British Columbia to Mexico. Corn lily is of interest because it has the potential to provide pharmaceutical precursors for use in the treatment of cancer. Pharmaceutical companies are currently...
Agricultural water supplies are becoming increasingly uncertain in the western United States due to elevated demands from competing water users, environmental restrictions on surface water withdrawals as a result of the establishment of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, and potential climatic changes. Since many rural communities in the West...
