The Bushland, Texas, maize evapotranspiration, growth, and yield dataset collection

Authors: Evett, Steven; Marek, Gary; Colaizzi, Paul; Copeland, Karen; Ruthardt, Brice; HOWELL, TERRY - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Scientific Data - Nature
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2025
Publication Date: 2/4/2025
Citation: Evett, S.R., Marek, G.W., Colaizzi, P.D., Copeland, K.S., Ruthardt, B.B., Howell, T.A. 2025. The Bushland, Texas, maize evapotranspiration, growth, and yield dataset collection. Scientific Data - Nature. 12. Article 209. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04539-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04539-2

Interpretive Summary: The scarcity of water resources in the U.S. Southern High Plains is of regional, national and even international concern due to the fact that the region acts as a breadbasket for the nation and world. The majority of agricultural production in this region depends on irrigation, largely dependent on pumping from the Ogallala or High Plains Aquifer, which are yielding less water every year. Scientists at the USDA ARS Conservation & Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas, collected data that can be used to calculate crop water use and crop water productivity under irrigated and dryland conditions in the region’s climate, including for subsurface drip irrigation that can save water. In the 1989, 1990, 1994, 2013, 2016, and 2018 seasons, grain corn (maize) was grown on from one to four large, precision weighing lysimeters used to measure crop water use, each in the center of a 4.44 ha square field also planted to corn. This dataset consists of periodic corn growth, water use, and microclimate data for each year. These data have not been previously publicly available in a readily useable format. Thus, the scientific team has prepared these unique data sets for sharing with other scientists and the general public on the USDA National Agricultural Library online data sharing library. These data sets have already been used along with crop yield data, to calculate crop water productivity, and crop coefficients to guide irrigation scheduling and water planning locally and regionally. Public accessibility via the USDA National Agricultural Library will increase their use by other researchers developing more capable water management tools and crop water use and yield computer models.

Technical Abstract: A collection of datasets describing six years of experiments on maize (Zea mays, L.) (corn) water use, growth, and yield is presented (1989, 1990, 1994, 2013, 2016, and 2018). Weighing lysimeters were used to determine crop evapotranspiration (ET). In-soil and above ground microclimate and ET data are presented on a 15-minute interval. Quality-controlled weather data are presented on a 15-minute interval for all days of the year from replicate weather sensors above a reference grass surface. Quality control and data analysis methods were applied to determination of ET, precipitation, irrigation, and dew and frost accumulation on a 15-minute basis from lysimeter mass data. Soil water content data at depths from 0.10- to 2.30-m depths in 0.20-m increments from calibrated neutron probe readings at multiple field locations and in the lysimeters are presented on a periodic basis. Crop planting, harvest, fertilization, pest control, and other agronomic data are presented in agronomic calendars by day of year. Crop growth data are presented on a periodic basis throughout the growing season, and crop yield data are presented for both machine harvest (combine) and hand harvest. The data are suitable for analysis of effects of irrigation and other agronomic decisions on crop yield and crop water productivity in the Southern High Plains region of the U.S. Great Plains.