Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

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Texas Tech UniversityCollege of Agricultural
Sciences and Natural Resources

• INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR BETTER LIVING

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• A multidisciplinary/multi institutional and
  collaborative research program in the following
  areas is an important research/outreach thrust of
  CASNR
• Conservation
• Human Health
• Sustainability
• Safety

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CONSERVATION
Using Satellites to Measure Water Use in Crop
Production
Objective Determine how much water applied to
agricultural crops by irrigation and rain
is actually being used by the plants.
Principal Investigator Dr. Stephen J.
Maas Professor of Agricultural Microclimatology Te
xas Tech University
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CONSERVATION

• A large part of the crop production in the
  semi-arid Texas High Plains is dependent upon
  irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer, the
  largest reservoir of fresh water in the Great
  Plains of the U. S.
• While more efficient methods of irrigation are
  being adopted by farmers in the region, depletion
  of the Ogallala Aquifer continues at an
  unsustainable rate.
• To determine the true efficiency of irrigation,
  it is necessary to know how much of the water
  applied to a crop is actually used to grow the
  crop.

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CONSERVATION

• Normally, measuring the water use of crops on a
  regional scale would be difficult, but CASNR
  researchers have developed a method for
  accurately estimating daily and seasonal crop
  water use on a field-by-field basis for an
  agricultural region.
• Since a single satellite image can contain many
  agricultural fields, this approach greatly
  simplifies the determination of crop water use on
  a regional scale.

• The method uses satellite images to evaluate a
  spectral crop coefficient that indicates how
  well the crop in a field is growing and, when
  combined with data from regional weather
  observations, provides an estimate of crop water
  use.

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CONSERVATION

• An estimate of the water actually used by the
  plants (compared to the total available water)
  provides a measure of the efficiency of water
  application.
• Studies in the Texas High Plains over the past 3
  years show that some fields are being efficiently
  irrigated, while too much irrigation water is
  being applied to others.
• This research could lead to increased
  conservation of the Ogallala Aquifer by helping
  farmers identify efficient irrigation systems and
  adopt more effective ways to schedule the timing
  and amounts of irrigation.

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HUMAN HEALTH
Virtually Eliminating Pathogens in Meat
Objective Determine the effectiveness of a
direct- fed microbial (Lactobacillus) on
E.coli incidence in cattle. Principal
Investigator Dr. Mindy Brashears Director of
International Center for Food Industry
Excellence Texas Tech University
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HUMAN HEALTH

• A lactobacillus-based cattle feed additive was
  developed that reduces E. coli 0157 in cattle by
  more than 50 percent. Currently, more than half
  of the fed cattle in the U. S. are on this
  product.
• Reducing the E. coli in cattle by 50 percent will
  prevent an estimated 10,000 illnesses and save
  the industry more than 5 billion in losses.

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HUMAN HEALTH

• Producer management practices, such as cleaning
  of feedlot pens, feedbunks and water tanks, as
  well as manipulation of basic ration ingredients
  have been applied to control E. coli 0157 in the
  pre-harvest environment. Most of these practices
  have not been proven consistently effective.
• However, feeding probiotics containing
  lactobacillus (friendly bacteria like that found
  in yogurt) does have a favorable effect. Mixed
  with rations and ingested by cattle, the
  lactobacillus travels to an animals digestive
  tract where it kills or at least impairs growth
  of E. coli 0157.

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HUMAN HEALTH

• E. coli or salmonella bacteria can cause an
  infection that often produces diarrhea, fever and
  abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The
  illness usually lasts four to seven days.
• While most people recover without treatment,
  infants, elderly people and those with
  compromised immune systems can develop severe
  illness that can be fatal if not promptly treated
  with antibiotics.

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SUSTAINABILITY
Diversified Systems Save Water, Boost Profits
Objective Identify profitable and sustainable
integrated crop/forage/livestock production
systems. Principal Investigator Dr. Vivien
Allen Thornton Distinguished Professor and Horn
Professor Texas Tech University
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SUSTAINABILITY

• The Texas Alliance for Water Conservation is an
  eight-year, 6.2 million demonstration project
  monitoring 26 Floyd and Hale County producers who
  use a variety of crop and livestock grazing
  combinations.
• By monitoring their farms over eight years,
  researchers are identifying growing practices and
  technologies that can allow growers to continue
  turning a profit on their land while preserving
  diminishing South Plains water resources.

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SUSTAINABILITY

• Producers who foraged livestock or grew forage
  fields alongside row crops have consistently
  enjoyed higher net yields for the amount of water
  and fertilizer they used.
• Sorghum requires less water than corn and can
  return similar profitability to the grower per
  acre.

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SUSTAINABILITY

• Perennial forages have a big advantage in
  prevention of soil erosion, lower nitrogen and
  water requirements, and have the potential to be
  profitable, particularly for the amount of water
  invested.
• Integrating forage production and/or grazing with
  crop production generally improves water
  conservation of the overall system because of the
  increased water-use efficiency of forage.

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SAFETY
New Wipes For Better Decontamination Of
Chemical Warfare Agents
Objective Develop a composite cotton fabric
designed to protect humans against
biological and chemical agents. Principal
Investigator Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar Associate
Professor, Nonwovens and Advanced Materials
Laboratory Texas Tech University
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SAFETY

• Testing results have created opportunities to use
  the fabric, dubbed Fibertect, in clothing
  liners for the first responders and chemical
  workers or as wipes in decontamination kits.
• Fibertect sandwiches a layer of active carbon
  between cotton. The cloth is flexible, holds
  together under a variety of chemicals and can
  quickly decontaminate sensitive surfaces like
  skin or electronics.

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SAFETY

• Researchers evaluated the ability of the new
  fabric to absorb and adsorb sulfur mustard, a
  toxic liquid that causes skin blistering, and
  compared the results to activated carbon
  particles and a standard military decontamination
  kit that uses powdered carbon mixed with other
  materials.
• The wipes were better than particulate carbon
  alone and as effective as the military
  decontamination kit. The next generation wipes,
  which are a major step toward a universal
  personal decontamination system for nearly any
  toxic or hazardous chemical, could help save the
  lives of soldiers and civilians.

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SAFETY

• In tests performed at the Lawrence Livermore
  National Laboratory in California using mustard
  gas and other toxic chemicals, the wipe
  outperformed 30 different materials, including
  some currently used in military decontamination
  kits.
• Emergency crews today can use a carbon powder
  very effective at soaking up chemicals but very
  messy when trying to decontaminate a large number
  of people. The powder leaves behind a black
  coating of dust wherever it is used, something
  that must be cleaned up or can be inhaled.

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