Sab Kim
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Updates on the vegetation conditions are provided here, monitored by the crop structure team. There were localized thunderstorms on July 15th, which gave 8 mm rainfall according to the local weather data. I happened to be in the field(!) and believe the campaign fields received much more. Some fields outside the low-altitude flight lines were not visited by the structure team. The conditions of these fields were instead monitored by the vegetation teams.
All the crops grew enough to start to make grains, and the percent ground covered by the vegetation was 80% to 100%, according to observations made between July 7th and 17th. The corn plants grew to 225cm high and will not grow much further even after the rainfall on 15th. Instead tassels and ears are developing, but no cobs yet.
Tassels on 2.2 m corn, July 17
Canola seed pods, July 5.
For more information, visit the SMAP Blogs From the Field site.
Grant Wiseman
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Another hot and dry week here in southern Manitoba has us missing the rain just a little bit. We have experienced a very nice dry down cycle in weeks 3 and 4 after a wet up period initially in weeks 1 and 2. By all accounts this will contribute to a very informative and descriptive dataset.
Some sandy loam soils have approached zero volumetric moisture levels, while many clay soils remain high at 25 or 30 percent but it has become rather difficult to insert moisture probes. Even morning dew levels have subsided. Dare I say, “Let it rain?”
Field crews are well into their groove with many not requiring the use of GPSs or maps for navigation any longer. On a much-deserved scheduled down day some team members took in the Canada Day festivities and fireworks on July 1st at Assiniboine Park or The Forks.
We’re two thirds of the way through and going strong, looking forward to the home stretch!
For more information, visit the SMAP Blogs from the Field page.
Narendra Das
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
I am signing off from SMAPVEX12 at Winnipeg with good vibes, pleasant memories and expectation that this will be a very successful campaign. I hope that, like me, most of my teammates have learnt substantially about the study area and had a great field sampling experience, and have also made many good friends during interactions and group dinners.
I conducted crop structure sampling of various crops (corn, beans, canola, wheat, and pasture) for the last one month and witnessed the growth spurt in crops within the one month span. Even though I knew about crop responses to weather variables I was amazed to see such a rapid response of crop growth to conducive environment conditions, especially for canola and corn.
Dr. Tsang, Dr. Jackson, Narendra, and Sab
Corn plants on 06-09-2012
Corn plants on 06-30-2012
For more information and pictures, visit the SMAP Blogs from the Field page.
Jacqueline Freeman
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Here are some photos from my veg team. They were taken today and show just some of the activities we perform during a vegetation sampling day.
Measuring crop height and diameter
The first image is of Saeid and myself measuring crop height and diameter and recording all of the info onto a field sheet. Each field has 3 pre-determined sampling points where all measurements are taken. Then vegetation is collected in labelled paper bags, and then sealed in plastic bags which we transport to the lab crew situated at Ma’s Drive-In in Elm Creek. Samples are then weighed (wet) and dried for about 2 days and weighed again (dry). The lab crew also separates the plant parts (leaves, stems) and weighs and dries those to determine where the bulk of the moisture is held within the plant.
For more SMAPVEX12 vegetation sampling information and pictures, visit the SMAP Blogs from the Field site.
Grant Wiseman
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Field teams had another successful week despite the weather still not living up to Manitoba’s famous warm sunny summers. The question on everybody’s mind is not if it is going to rain tomorrow but when?
Week 2 contained two full soil sample day efforts, four vegetation collection days, the completion of the roughness campaign, the structure team beginning their third round of measurements and the forestry team making significant progress. Way to go team!
Crop Duster
Read more at the SMAP Blogs from the Field site.
