Next Stop: Detroit - An ASABE AIM 2018 Preview

By Michael Gutierrez

Summer means rain and heat for us in Florida, but it also means a new ASABE Annual International Meeting (AIM). This year many students and faculty from UF-ABE will be making the trek to Detroit, MI, to compete, present research, and network with both international and national peers.

Things To Do

There will be dozens and dozens of talks during ASABE AIM. Here I’ll highlight some of what I’ll be focusing on from a water-use perspective, with an interest in UF-ABE work. Activities ramp up on Monday with the General Session and the start of technical sessions. The “Producing More Food with Less Water” panel should generate some excellent discussion on water quality, quantity and the role of ag and bio engineers. Monday also features incoming UF-ABE Department Chair Dr. Kati Migliaccio presenting “Water Quality - The Reality Show” in Session 123. Big data and Computational Tools presentations are slated for Tuesday in Session 254 among others. UF-ABE graduate students Miles Medina and Kathleen Vazquez will present during this session. I’ll also be on the lookout for talks from Hao Gan and Thaigo Onofre (Sessions 210 and 242 respectively) two top UF-ABE graduate students in precision ag and cloud computing.  

Please join us in congratulating #UFABE Land and Water Resources graduate student Ian Hahus on receiving the @ASABEorg Robert E. Stewart Engineering-Humanities Award! Ian will be recognized at the ASABE Annual International Meeting in Detroit, Michigan next month. #ItsGreatUF pic.twitter.com/qW8vbaG3nB

— UF/IFAS Agricultural and Biological Engineering (@UF_ABE) June 26, 2018

“I am looking forward to listening to Dr. Ian Hahus’ two presentations and meeting with Resource magazine about a special issue I am co-editing next year focused on women leaders in the discipline,” said Dr. Migliaccio, UF-ABE Chair. ABE alum Dr. Hahus will present during Sessions 262 and 324 at AIM, and on Wednesday will accept the Robert E. Stewart Engineering Humanities Award.

The RoboGators are back for 2018!

Design Competitions

Amidst the presentations and networking, student teams also travel from far and wide to take part in the Robotics Design and Fountain Wars Competitions. 2018’s robotics competition features 19 teams in two categories. Teams will field autonomous robots on a board to simulate the harvest and storage of apples. All three rounds of robotics take place on Tuesday.  Fountain Wars is judged on a number of criteria - including written and oral presentations. But crowds will form Monday evening when teams put their fountains to the test completing two technical tasks - launching a golf disc and keeping a balance beam level, using only water and engineering savvy.

#ASABEaim18

IrriGator will be in Detroit for all the goings-on. If you are attending ASABE AIM follow along and contribute to the happenings on Twitter using the #ASABEaim18 tag. Digital presence has never been more vital to scicomm so be sure to add your research and POV to the mix.

BMPs and BMAPs: A Twilight Corn Field Day 2018 Report Back

By Michael Gutierrez

Last week North Florida Research and Education Center - Suwannee Valley (NFREC), hosted Twilight Corn Field Day 2018. The event covered topics from corn production to irrigation management. Twenty percent of Florida’s farming happens in the region served by NFREC, an expanding research venue currently involved in some 50 projects. UF-ABE PhD candidate Maria Zamora attended the field day event at NFREC. Her work with corn best management practices is closely related to the topics presented at the event. She agreed to discuss her field day experience with IrriGator.   

UF-ABE PhD Candidate Maria Zamora (image: M. Dukes)

As a researcher and also an extension educator, what do you feel was the objective of the Twilight Corn Field Day?

MZ: The most important objective overall was to let growers know about the urgency to adopt best management practices (BMP) for nitrogen (N) reduction loads in the Suwannee River Basin. The target of the Santa Fe, Suwannee and Withlacoochee​ Basins of 0.35 mg/L monthly average nitrate concentration must be met in the next 5 years.​ According to the new basement management action plan (BMAP), these basins are a susceptible area for nitrogen leaching in which action must be taken.

As a researcher the most important objective was to provide research information and results from research experiments performed at the Center to growers. Most of this information was regarding BMPs that growers can choose and implement in their fields. As an educator, the most important objective was to communicate research results to the open public, especially to the growers, who are the main target audience of the research being performed to meet the target N load reductions.

NFREC Director Bob Hochmuth addresses Field Day attendees (image: M Zamora)

Can you give us an idea of what kind of research work was highlighted?

MZ: Several projects were highlighted:

Dr. Charles Barrett explained in a very demonstrative way how to schedule irrigation using soil moisture sensors (SMS). As well, Dr. Joel Love, who coordinated the Twilight Corn Field Day, provided details about ongoing research on selection of corn varieties (high yielding varieties), fertilizer options and timing. Dr. David Wright provided concise documentation about starter fertilizer placement in no till corn, control release fertilizer in corn, control of nematode population, irrigation and fertilization amounts and timing among others. Overall the research pointed to the optimization of inputs (essentially N and water), as potential BMP options that growers could adopt.

Based on your work what presentation was most relevant or useful?

MZ: Based on the work we have been ​performing during the last 3 years, I found the SMS demo very interesting and engaging. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what we cannot see. The demo consisted of showing the rootzone in a fully developed corn field trial. A pit was made in order to visualize how deep the roots were growing. As a result, growers and participants were able to visualize that the most active rootzone is concentrated in the top ~0-40 cm. Roots might grow in deeper soil layers, but are mostly concentrated in those top layers. Therefore, irrigation should be managed where plants can take up the water. Large amounts of irrigation result in drainage and nutrient leaching from the rootzone.

A corn field's soil profile exposed (image: M. Zamora)

What do you feel is the most impactful work that is being pursued at NFREC?

MZ: The most impactful work being pursued is reaching the balance between profitable agriculture production and environmental protection. This is being realized through the different on-going research projects, as well as future projects, such as a crop rotation with the inclusion of grass and cattle production.

There is not a single factor that will modify final yields or final N losses to the environment. Factors are all tight together:

-Choosing the right variety for the right place and environment would define the potential yield when it's managed correctly.

-Adequate placement of fertilizer would improve the uptake and reduce the losses. Therefore, sidedressing is a practice that would reduce N losses. Different types of fertilizer also are alternatives (litter, cow manure, control release fertilizer, etc).

-Adequate irrigation is required in order to keep nutrients in the rootzone and to avoid overirrigation (i.e. greater amounts are applied than needed).

-Adequate control of nematodes (especially in a corn-corn rotation) is essential to avoid final yield reductions. Where the first assumption might be N or water stress, in many cases nematodes are the cause (very hard to see/detect).

Charles Barrett presenting at the Field Day (image M. Zamora)

Is there anything I didn't ask you that you think readers should know?

​MZ: I hope all BMP alternatives serve as a cocktail of strategies for growers! ​There is an urgency to take action now. Adopting and implementing BMPs would be beneficial for growers and for the environment. Growers can reduce losses (i.e. input losses and final yield losses), hence increase profits and investments. However, these efforts must come from all sides and angles: from researchers, extension agents, educators, modelers, industry and stakeholders to find that sweet balance among humans and nature.