In recent Mississippi Crop Situation blogs, two items are especially worth noting.

In a Feb. 11 posting, Dr. Tom Allen presents the results of the second annual “Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition”. The main goals of the event were to provide students the opportunity to present their research findings to and interact with a diverse audience of attendees.

Ms. Tessie Wilkerson, the MSPB’s Blaine Fellowship holder, placed third in the Ph.D. section. Her presentation dealt with management of Cercospora sojina (causal agent of frogeye leaf spot) in the 2013 Mississippi soybean crop. Congratulations Tessie! The MSPB and the soybean producers it represents look forward to your continued progress and future success as you move toward the completion of your degree.

In a Feb. 12 posting, Dr. Jason Krutz, along with Drs. Darrin Dodds, Trent Irby, and Erick Larson (all with the MCES), summarize 2013 results from the MSPB-funded RISER project. The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate methods and tools that can be used to improve furrow irrigation application efficiency and timing. The overall goal of this effort is to reduce the amount of water that is applied to Mississippi crops through furrow irrigation.

The RISER results indicate that using computerized hole sizing (PHAUCET or Pipe Planner), surge valves, and soil moisture sensors can result in a 50% reduction in irrigation water use while maintaining yield potential and profitability. This finding is profound and should provide the impetus for all Mississippi irrigators to adopt one or more of these tools.

The MSPB is funding several major efforts to address the declining water level in the Alluvial Aquifer. The RISER project is one that obviously is already giving a return on that investment. It, along with the many other activities of MSPB’s SIP 2014, show that Mississippi soybean producers are very serious about doing their part to ensure that the alluvial aquifer is protected for future generations of Mississippi’s farmers.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Feb. 2014, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net