ACES Impact Stories | 2019

Water Use and Conservation

Deficit Irrigation Management Of Alternative Crops To Sustain Ogallala Aquifer

The Ogallala Aquifer provides water for farming in the Great Plains area. Researchers at NMSU are identifying low water use, stress-tolerant alternative crops that will reduce Ogallala Aquifer depletion if adopted in large acres. By developing suitable deficit irrigation management strategies for diverse alternative crops to further reduce their irrigation water use to increase adoption. This will protect a multi-billion dollar rural economy and may help in transitioning our agriculture from deficit irrigation to dryland farming. If crops like guar, safflower, and canola are grown on 25% of the agriculture land in the region, in addition to reduced Ogallala depletion, they will produce raw materials for local oil and natural gas, food, dairy and bioenergy industries.

Sangamesh Angadi - PES

Produced Water Quality Spatial Variability And Alternative-Source Water Analysis Applied To The Permian Basin, USA

Groundwater is needed for agriculture and is becoming scarce in the Permian Basin where produced water (PW) is extracted with oil, but poor water quality impedes the use of PW. Characterizing PW compositional variability is needed to evaluate environmental impact, treatment, and reuse potential. Both energy and food production sustainability are required for our industries and population, especially when they are both located in desert areas. NMSU collaborating with UTEP discovered PW salinity decreased with further increases in depth. Contour maps of salinity illustrate spatial variability across Permian Basin, which suggests that upon treatment PW would support some beneficial uses, such as onsite reuse and mining.

Kenneth C. Carroll - PES

Quantifying Disconnection Of Groundwater From Managed-Ephemeral Surface Water During Drought And Conjunctive Agricultural Use

Crops that are critical to New Mexico's economy, such as the world-famous green chile from Hatch, rely heavily on groundwater during drought. Groundwater and surface water can become disconnected as groundwater table drops, which limits infiltration. NMSU, in conjunction with the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, discovered that the 2010-2017 drought caused a transition to disconnection within parts of the watershed where Hatch is located, and they confirmed the reversibility of this disconnection by study period end. The method developed can monitor these hydrologic transitions overreach to basin scales.

Kenneth C. Carroll - PES

Promoting Soil Moisture Sensors And Adopting Deficit Irrigation Strategies

Promoting soil moisture sensors and adopting deficit irrigation strategies could help to irrigate an additional 20-25% of land. Conservation agriculture targeting limited irrigation strategies improves crop water productivity across the Southwestern US. NMSU preliminary results show a water saving of about 25% of seasonal irrigation amount while maintaining crop yield. The extrapolation of this study into the farmers’ field targeting the Navajo Agricultural Product Industry (NAPI) with more than 72,000 acres developed, could help in increasing the actual capacity to irrigate additional 15,000-18,000 acres of the 35,000 acres that can be potentially developed by NAPI. Soil moisture sensors help optimizing irrigation management and improving water conservation.

Koffi Djaman - PES

Automated Water Sensor

Water is the most limited natural resource in New Mexico. A researcher at NMSU is involved in developing an inexpensive and accurate soil moisture sensor that will help water-users monitor soil moisture to determine only the required water used for crops. Also, research is ongoing to find automated techniques that will track and deliver the right amount of water at the right time for application to crops.

Blair Stringam - PES

Water Stress Modeling To Improve Policy and Management

The American Southwest and Northern Mexico need to adapt to and manage water stresses associated with changing climates. Because it is important for regional stakeholders to see the results and to experiment with policy proposals they would like to consider researchers at NMSU developed policy analysis models to compare options for protecting aquifers and adapting to various water supply scenarios under different potential climate conditions.

Brian Hurd - AEAB

Evaluating Plant Growth Regulators And The Soil Surfactant Revolution® To Alleviate Drought Stress In Bermudagrass

Plant growth regulators (PGR) and soil surfactants are commonly used for golf course maintenance. NMSU research has documented that the combination of the PGR Trinexapac-ethyl and the soil surfactant Revolution, reduces irrigation requirements while maintaining higher turf quality. In a follow-up study, further testing will identify the impact of five different PGRs applied separately or in combination with the soil surfactant Revolution at two irrigation levels on bermudagrass quality. The overall goal is to identify the most effective treatment combination to help golf course superintendents save up to 25% of the irrigation water they currently use.

Matteo Serena - EPS