Hot Stuff, Summer 1997
The following "Hot Stuff" articles appeared in the Summer 1997 issue of New Mexico Resources:
Soaking it Up
George Dickerson, horticulture specialist with NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service, knows that when farmers give their vegetables a drink, they want it to last. That's why he's studying whether using compost and a water-absorbing gel can help the state's small-scale, high-value crop growers make the most of the state's limited water supply.
"New Mexico has been in an extended drought for four to five years, resulting in reduced yields of both agronomic and horticultural crops," Dickerson says. "Fields treated with compost could retain more of what limited moisture occurs naturally and moisture applied artificially."
The Extension research project includes plots in eight counties through-out New Mexico.
"I'm looking at the effects of four combinations of compost and a water-absorbing gel on plant growth and yield of several horticultural crops, including cantaloupe, chile, cucumbers, and tomatoes," Dickerson says.
He's testing green compost from Albuquerque's state-of-the-art compost facility. Green compost contains only vegetative yard waste, no animal or human waste that can make compost too high in salt.
The nontoxic, synthetic gel is similar to the moisture-absorbing material found in many brands of diapers today. When mixed with the soil and then watered, the small granules swell to the size of marbles.
The research plots also are covered with a special, woven, plastic mulch that allows moisture through, keeps the soil warm, and reduces the need for weeding.
Plants were started in special transplant tubes in the greenhouse. "After transplanting, we gave the plants a good drink to load up the soil with water," Dickerson says.
From then on, the plants have received only natural rainfall and limited supplemental water from a portable drip irrigation system. At the end of the season, yields from crops grown in the research plots will be compared to what growers achieved under full irrigation.
One cooperating farmer is Harold Hobson of Hobson Farms Inc., located 6.5 miles south of Roswell in Chaves County.
"We grow a lot of vegetables, and we're interested in any method that uses less water," Hobson says. "We're also very interested in conserving natural resources to benefit the people that follow us."
As part of the study, Dickerson will compare the cost of the extra materials with the cost savings of water and the price received for the crops at farmers' markets or roadside stands.
The initial costs for the gel and plastic may seem high, he says. But the gel can last in the soil for several years, and the plastic mulch is treated to withstand the sun's damaging rays and can be used for as many as 10 years. "Even if the costs do turn out to be too high for growers, these treatments may work well for home gardeners," he adds.
Some Like it Hot
Long, slender fiber suitable for making the finest silklike fabrics and polished cottons is the quality millers like most about a cotton variety that flourishes in hot days and warm nights.
New Mexico Sea Island cotton was developed from a cotton that's been growing in the Caribbean for more than 100 years, says Roy Cantrell, cotton breeder with NMSU's Agricultural Experiment Station.
"New Mexico Sea Island cotton adds a third choice or class of cotton to the Pima and Acala that producers grow in this area," Cantrell says. "Economically, there's a premium price for the fiber, even above Pima. It also differs from other cottons in management, marketing, and the end product used in textiles."
Sea Island produces a very soft but not limp fabric, says Dick Davis, a retired NMSU agronomist who worked nine years to isolate the variety. "The cotton fabrics can be almost transparent and make very fine sheets, dresses, and other clothing."
Climate is a major factor for growing Sea Island, he says. "It requires lower night temperatures to fruit properly."
Night temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees in the summer would be ideal, says Carl Roberts, NMSU research specialist. Days should not be more than 105 degrees.
Although Sea Island matures later than most cotton, it grows well in southern New Mexico, he says. This is the third year farmers are under contract to grow Sea Island -- almost 350 acres.
More than 100 acres grown last year by several New Mexico producers netted a good price from a Japanese mill, says David Hand, Southwest Irrigated Cotton Growers' Association president. The crop sold at about 150 percent of the regular Pima price.
"We don't know if that's going to be the market price when there's a lot of New Mexico Sea Island cotton to be sold," he says. "It's anybody's guess."
Cotton producer Rob Thorpe will wait to see if he's satisfied with Sea Island yields before making long-term plans.
"We'll experiment with it another year or two," he says. "If it's a good variety and it's economically feasible, then we'll expand on it."
Not so Cool Fungus
Cool, wet weather. That's what peanut farmers in eastern New Mexico dread, the web blotch fungus likes, and the BlotchCast computer program monitors.
Since 1993, BlotchCast has helped Valencia peanut growers predict Mother Nature's effects. The program, developed by researchers with NMSU's Agricultural Experiment Station, forecasts web blotch disease outbreaks with information from a network of seven weather stations.
New Mexico produces 90 percent of the nation's Valencia or in-the-shell, ballpark peanuts. But web blotch can threaten the crop by causing the plants' leaves to die prematurely. Peanuts growing underground don't fill, reducing yield and quality.
"BlotchCast is a computer program that allows growers to predict when this disease may occur, so they can apply pesticides more efficiently than simply going by the seat of their pants or a calendar schedule," says Craig Liddell, Experiment Station plant pathologist.
Web blotch outbreaks, like those of many plant diseases, are determined by weather. The parameters: temperature is about 68 degrees for 10 to 15 hours a day, humidity is about 90 percent for 5 to 10 hours a day, and there's been recent rainfall.
"If those conditions go on for three or four days, the disease will likely start," Liddell says. "These conditions are recognizable to people living in the Clovis and Portales area, because they generally occur in July and August as the monsoonal rains come and it starts to cool off."
BlotchCast predicts the disease three days in advance. Predictions are broadcast on the radio, published in the newspaper, and available on a telephone hot line.
But the predictions are only as good as the weather data. "Last year, we had someoutbreaks that occurred on the slightly higher elevation peanut fields. So, we decided to relocate a couple of stations to cover those areas," Liddell says.
Where to place the weather stations has turned out to be a tricky issue. At $5,000 per station, he can't put one in every peanut field. He prefers not to move the stations often, but peanuts aren't grown in the same fields every year.
Still, more customized BlotchCast predictions are possible. "We have one or two farmers who are interested in downloading their own data, and one grower who has actually purchased his own station," Liddell says.