By Chabella Guzman, PREEC communications / Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator
The growing season is quickly ending.
“However, replanted dry beans will need more time to make a crop,” said Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator. “Corn and sugar beets are doing well. Winter wheat planting will begin soon.” He added that millet harvest will begin in the next several weeks and sunflowers are in full bloom.
Temperatures will remain on the high side for the next week or so. Irrigation water deliveries continue across the North Platte Valley, with Pathfinder diverting approximately 1,700 cfs and Goshen/Gering-Fort Laramie irrigation district diverting approximately 1,375 cfs. Seminoe Reservoir is at 58 percent capacity, Pathfinder Reservoir is at 60 percent capacity, and Glendo Reservoir is at 35 percent capacity. Producers should consider their water applications as surface/canal water usually curtails mid-September. Try to have a full soil water profile to get the crops through to harvest.
Assisting growers with monitoring their crop’s water profile is the – Estimated Crop Water Use table for Aug. 26 to Sept. 1. The table information includes the estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle crops for the previous week and the upcoming week. The table is based on data gathered and calculations made by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator, and Dr. Xin Qiao, Extension Irrigation and Water Management Specialist, both based at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff.
Crop water use will vary across the Panhandle due to variations in ET, crop growth stage, temperature, soil type, wind, and precipitation events. Crop water use will assist growers with irrigation scheduling and efficient water application and use.
Register and receive a weekly TEXT message with the table information at https://phrec-irrigation.com/#/weekly_crop_water_usage
The AgriTools App can provide easy access to location-specific climate and weather information to the agricultural industry in Nebraska https://agritools.unl.edu/