1. Agricultural Sustainability Through Cover Crops Andres Tapia, Dr
Agricultural Sustainability Through Cover Crops Andres Tapia, Dr. Krystel Castillo, Dr. Harry Schomberg   Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute, University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249,USA
Abstract
This undergraduate research project aims to quantify the effect of the level of water moisture in the soil on the growth of the corn plant. A comparison between a system with a cover crop vs. a system without it was performed. This ongoing research focuses in determining if there are any benefits or drawbacks of using cover crops in terms of water moisture availability for the corn to use.
1. Introduction
This research consisted in investigating the impact of the level of water moisture in the soil on the growth of the corn plant when there is a cover crop present and without it. To accomplished our goal, a device was designed and built to determine the relationship between temperature and the growth of a corn plant.
2. Objectives
Study the relationship between soil moisture of agricultural systems with and without cover crops.
Design and build a non-invasive measurement instrument to measure the temperature of the corn leaves to determine the effect of temperature on moisture levels of the soil.
Create a computer program to arrange and filter the data collected from the sensors in the fields so it can be imported and easily read into other data analysis packages.
3. Methodology
Objective 1: Each subplot had two wireless sensors and three wired sensors at various depths to get a water profile.
Objective2: Infrared sensors were used to measure plant and canopy temperatures in a non-intrusive manner.
Objective 3: A computer code was developed in MATLAB® using the app designer tool.
4. Results
The prototype was finished and it is being tested in the field. The executable file has been created that allows the user to easily process the data collected. The period of performance of this project is 10 years; therefore, data is still being collected.
5. Conclusions
The designed and implemented non-invasive measurement instrument and computer code will facilitate the data collection and analysis. This research has multiple parameters of interest. Since the data needs to be taken every planting season, data collection is a work in progress.
6. Acknowledgements
Financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Award Number: ) is gratefully acknowledged.
Fig. 1 : Node without solar panel
Fig. 2 Corn Plot Node
Fig. 3 : IRT Instrument Prototype
Fig. 4 :IRT Circuit Designed
Proceedings of the 2018 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Section Annual Conference The University of Texas at Austin
April 4-6, 2018