Agronomic Calendars for the Bushland, Texas Sunflower Datasets

This dataset consists of agronomic calendars for each growing season (year) when sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was grown for seed at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Laboratory (CPRL), Soil and Water Management Research Unit (SWMRU) research weather station, Bushland, Texas (Lat. 35.186714°, Long. -102.094189°, elevation 1170 m above MSL). Sunflower was grown on two large, precision weighing lysimeters, each in the center of a 4.44 ha square field. The two fields were the easternmost (NE and SE) of four square fields, which are themselves arranged in a larger square with the fields in four adjacent quadrants of the larger square. Fields and lysimeters within each field are thus designated northeast (NE), southeast (SE), northwest (NW), and southwest (SW). Irrigation was by linear move sprinkler system. Irrigations designated as full were managed to replenish soil water used by the crop on a weekly or more frequent basis as determined by soil profile water content readings made with a neutron probe to 2.4-m depth in the field. Irrigations designated as deficit typically involved full irrigation to establish the crop. A crop calendar for each season lists by date the pertinent agronomic and maintenance operations (e.g., planting, thinning, fertilization, pesticide application, lysimeter maintenance, harvest). For each season there is a crop calendar for the two lysimeters. These datasets originate from research aimed at determining crop water use (ET), crop coefficients for use in ET-based irrigation scheduling based on a reference ET, crop growth, yield, harvest index, and crop water productivity as affected by irrigation method, timing, amount (full or some degree of deficit), agronomic practices, cultivar, and weather. Prior publications have focused on ET, crop coefficients, and crop water productivity. Crop coefficients have been used by ET networks. The data have utility for testing simulation models of crop ET, growth, and yield and have been used for testing, and calibrating models of ET that use satellite and/or weather data.

• Resource Title: 2009 Bushland, TX, east sunflower agronomic calendar.

  File Name: 2009 East Sunflower Calendar.xlsx

  Resource Description: This agronomic calendar lists by date the agronomic operations on the Bushland, TX, large weighing lysimeters and surrounding fields, including tillage, planting, fertilization, pesticide application, furrow diking, irrigations, etc., and also sensor installation, sensor reading that might disturb lysimeter operation (neutron probe readings), maintenance operations such as emptying drainage tanks, adjusting lysimeter scale counterweights, electronic and electrical maintenance, etc. Amounts and kinds of fertilizer and pesticide applications are given with proper chemical names and SI units.




• Resource Title: 2011 Bushland, TX, east sunflower agronomic calendar.

  File Name: 2011 East Sunflower Calendar.xlsx

  Resource Description: This agronomic calendar lists by date the agronomic operations on the Bushland, TX, large weighing lysimeters and surrounding fields, including tillage, planting, fertilization, pesticide application, furrow diking, irrigations, etc., and also sensor installation, sensor reading that might disturb lysimeter operation (neutron probe readings), maintenance operations such as emptying drainage tanks, adjusting lysimeter scale counterweights, electronic and electrical maintenance, etc. Amounts and kinds of fertilizer and pesticide applications are given with proper chemical names and SI units.