Number 270 November 5, 2010

Transcription

1 Number 270 November 5, Smoke modeling tool for Flint Hills burning could benefit grassland managers 1 2. Soil web app for your Droid phone, iphone, or ipad 2 3. Request for help evaluating the Wheat Fusarium Head Blight Prediction System 5 4. Comparative Vegetation Condition Report: October 26 November Smoke modeling tool for Flint Hills burning could benefit grassland managers Prescribed burning in the Flint Hills has significant economic benefits to grassland managers, but can also potentially cause air quality problems at times. This is especially troublesome for large metropolitan areas such as Kansas City and Wichita because so many people are impacted. This dilemma is well known, and has been difficult to resolve. New modeling tools and decision support systems being developed at K-State could help reduce the potential for air quality problems while still allowing for timely prescribed burning of the Flint Hills. This voluntary system will be field tested during the spring of 2011 in selected areas of the Flint Hills, as part of the State of Kansas Flint Hills Smoke Management Plan. This test will be the start of a validation and refinement period of the new system that should last about 2-4 years. The system could then be finalized and operational in about 5 years, if all goes well. The decision support system (DSS), developed by Doug Goodin and colleagues in the Department of Geography at K-State, is based on V-Smoke, a smoke plume transportation model used by the U.S. Forest Service. That model attempts to predict where a large plume of smoke will go on a given day, based on environmental conditions and other factors. The DSS from K-State uses V-Smoke, along with data on forage biomass conditions on the ground and historical burn patterns in specific counties, to predict how much burning may take place on a given day, how much smoke could occur, and the direction the smoke plume is likely to move. K-State s DSS model will be run daily during April, with the results issued as a series of advisories for specific counties, or sections of counties, in Kansas. If the DSS model results suggest that burning in a particular location is likely to cause smoke plumes to move over a large metropolitan area, it will flag that location as an area of concern. This will provide burn managers with additional information for deciding whether burning at that location should be recommended. 1

2 Starting in April of 2011, K-State Extension and others will be asking grassland managers to check the DSS web site starting at 6:00 a.m. the morning before a prescribed burn is planned. (The web site is still being refined and does not yet have an address, so cannot be viewed at this time. K-State Extension will notify landowners and managers when the web site is up and running.) If the web site flags a location as an area of concern, we hope grassland managers in that area will consider calling off the burn that day and waiting for the next opportunity. The DSS model is part of the State of Kansas Flint Hills Smoke Management Plan, and it is important to the KDHE and the EPA that the state has such a plan and that it is effective. If grassland managers are making a good faith effort to follow the smoke management plan, it is hoped that this will eliminate the occasional exceedance, a day on which smoke from Flint Hills burning has caused the ozone levels to be higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Adjusting burning plans to take into account the information provided by the DSS model will be voluntary for now. If smoke from prescribed burns continues to result in air quality exceedances in urban areas, contingency plans outline a more regulatory plan. Whether compliance remains voluntary depends in part on how well the DSS model advisories are accepted by grassland managers in the Flint Hills. Depending on when the new web site becomes operational, grassland managers can expect to receive more information over the winter and early spring about the new web-based advisory smoke management system from K-State. They will be made aware of how the system will work and the importance of following the voluntary advisories. If all goes well over the next few years, the system will be followed by grassland managers and will keep smoke from causing ozone exceedances in metropolitan areas in Kansas (note: EPA may add more cities than Kansas City and Wichita to the ozone watch list in the future). If this voluntary system is successful, we may be able to avoid having any type of mandatory regulations on prescribed burning in the Flint Hills. -- Carol Blocksome, Rangeland Management blocksom@ksu.edu -- Jeff Davidson, Greenwood County Extension Agent jdavidso@ksu.edu -- Doug Goodin, Department of Geography dgoodin@ksu.edu -- Doug Watson, Meteorologist, KDHE Bureau of Air dwatson@kdheks.gov 2. Soil web app for your Droid phone, iphone, or ipad Ever been out in the field and wished you had access to up-to-date soils information for your location? Or been researching a parcel of land that you re considering buying and wondered 2

3 what the soil types and land capability classifications were? Or looking for a place to build a new home and wondered about the suitability for an onsite wastewater treatment system? There is a free application (often called an app ) that can be downloaded and used on Droid phones or iphones. The iphone app can also be used with the ipad, though you ll have to have 3G AT&T cellular service or be standing close enough to a wireless network, i.e., within 30 feet of your wireless router. The application uses your device s global positioning system (GPS) location. If you ve never activated your device s GPS receiver, you ll be prompted to do so when you open this app for the first time. Installation: From your phone s Marketplace or Apps store, simply search for Soil Web. Once installed, tap on the icon called Soil Web. Once the Soil Web application loads, click on Get my location. This will show the name of the soil series and a diagram of the soil horizons and depths. The Smolan series is mapped beneath Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center at K-State. 3

4 If you tap on the name of the series, it will take you to another screen which has several options for obtaining more information about that soil series. For example, if you tap on OSD, you ll see the Official Series Description, where you can read about the soil horizons and their properties, as well as information on the parent materials, slope, etc. If you click on SSL data, you can access the National Soil Survey Laboratory s database for additional information such as particle size (texture) data, ph, cation exchange capacity, etc. 4

5 If you need more help or directions, a help guide can be found online at: -- DeAnn Presley, Soil Management Specialist deann@ksu.edu 3. Request for help evaluating the Wheat Fusarium Head Blight Prediction System We d like to continue to predict the likelihood of Fusarium head blight infections of wheat in Kansas and elsewhere, but we need your help. It won t cost a penny. All we need is your feedback on our web-based prediction system. Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat has been an important problem in Kansas, with several regional disease outbreaks occurring between The disease causes significant yield loss. Also, damaged grain is often contaminated with the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), commonly known as vomitoxin. The disease is best managed through a combination variety resistance, field selection (not planting wheat into fields with heavy corn residue), and timely application of fungicides when weather conditions elevate the risk of disease development. One problem with fungicide timing is that the disease is not visible in the field until it has already infected the wheat, and by that time fungicides will no longer be effective. The best time to apply fungicides for FHB is to apply them to the wheat head just before an infection occurs. To do that, there has to be a way to accurately predict the risk of FHB in a timely way so that producers have enough time to get the fungicide applied if necessary. To make such predictions, teams of scientists from various states have used a combination of environmental data and wheat crop stage in localized areas throughout a wide area of the U.S. The results are available on the web. The web-based prediction tools ( provide daily estimates of disease risk for 25 states east the Rocky Mountains. This multi-state effort requires considerable resources to maintain, and scientists involved in the project would like to gather some input justify continued investment of time, computing resources and funds needed to sustain the effort. of to If you have used these tools during the 2010-growing season, we would like to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to complete this on-line survey that will help us evaluate, improve, and maintain the system. The link to the survey is: -- Erick De Wolf, Extension Plant Pathology dewolf1@ksu.edu 5

6 4. Comparative Vegetation Condition Report: October 26 November 2 K-State s Ecology and Agriculture Spatial Analysis Laboratory (EASAL) produces weekly Vegetation Condition Report maps. These maps can be a valuable tool for making crop selection and marketing decisions. The most recent VCR maps from EASAL are below: Map 1. Compared to the 21-year average at this time, this year s Vegetation Condition Report for October 26 - November 2, from K-State s Ecology and Agriculture Spatial Analysis Laboratory shows that the belownormal production continues in the west central areas of the state, and are expanding into the south central regions. Areas of much-above-normal conditions, side-by-side with areas of below-normal production, illustrate the uneven emergence of the winter wheat crop. 6

7 Map 2. Compared to last year at this time, this year s Vegetation Condition Report for October 26 - November 2, from K-State s Ecology and Agriculture Spatial Analysis Laboratory shows just how much the western portions of the state are behind last year s moisture level. Also noteworthy is the decreased production seen in southeastern Kansas. These areas coincide with the areas of abnormally dry conditions on the latest Drought Monitor. 7

8 Map 3. The U.S. Corn Belt comparison to the 21-year average shows vegetative production continues to be ahead of average. In the northern regions, this is due to favorable Fall moisture. In the southern reaches, it tends to be due to mild temperatures and late dates for the first frosts of the season. The exceptions to general favorable conditions are in southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and northwest Kentucky, where drought conditions continue to dominate. 8

9 Map 4. During this period compared to the 21-year average, the Vegetative Condition Comparison shows much of the continental U.S. enjoying greater-than-average vegetative production. The areas of brown in upstate New York is due to snowfall, while the brown along the coast of northern California and southern Oregon is due to persistent cloud cover. The brown in Kentucky, however, is due to lingering drought conditions. -- Mary Knapp, State Climatologist -- Kevin Price, Agronomy and Geography, Remote Sensing, Natural Resources, GIS -- Nan An, Graduate Research Assistant, Ecology & Agriculture Spatial Analysis Laboratory (EASAL) These e-updates are a regular weekly item from K-State Extension Agronomy and Steve Watson, Agronomy e- Update Editor. All of the Research and Extension faculty in Agronomy will be involved as sources from time to time. If you have any questions or suggestions for topics you'd like to have us address in this weekly update, contact Steve Watson, swatson@ksu.edu, or Jim Shroyer, Research and Extension Crop Production Specialist and State Extension Agronomy Leader jshroyer@ksu.edu 9