The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
ANNUAL REPORTING FORM
 
Brian Leib, Associate Professor
Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science
Annual Performance Period: January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007


A. SUMMARY AND IMPACTS.

1. Summary. Provide an overall summary (500 words or less) of your accomplishments during the reporting period.

My primary objective is to develop and deliver information for clientele on irrigation system design and management that will increase productivity, reduce chemical inputs, save water, and decrease non-point pollution.

In Tennessee, projects have been initiated that correspond with my primary objective and affect important crop enterprises in the state. Seven field research and extension projects were continued from 2006 and two existing projects were significantly improved in 2007. These nine projects are:

CONTINUED PROJECTS
1) Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment,
2) Tennessee Irrigation Survey Of Row Crop Production,
3) Fertigation of Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels,
4) A Revolving Fund to Promotion Irrigation Scheduling using Soil Moisture Sensors,
5) MOIST Irrigation Scheduling Program and Automated Weather Stations,
6) Optimum Pumpkin Production comparing Irrigation Levels, Plastic Mulch, and Bare Soil,
7) Low Cost Irrigation of Bermuda Grass for Small Acreage Implemented,

Upgraded Projects
8) Sprinkler Package Evaluation for Center Pivot Irrigation of Row Crops in No-Till, (run-off and erosion plots were added to the experiment)
9) The Irrigation Potential of Forages: Fescue, Orchard Grass, Bermuda Grass, and Alfalfa (new plots are being added through funding with Hugh Savoy).


These projects are located on UT experiment stations and on producers' fields, and include collaboration with extension specialists from other departments along with extension agents from various counties. In order to support these projects, $93,310 of new grant funds were secured in 2007 and $104,579 grants were still active from previous contracts.

These research and extension projects are providing much of the information needed for my extension programming and there has been significant requests for education/service in 2007 as summarized below:

1. 14 presentations were made to 575 producers, extension agents, and professionals,
2. 16 irrigation/water related plans were developed for clientele,
3. 10 row crop producers participated in irrigation scheduling demonstrations,
4. 48 requests for technical information were answered.


2. Impacts. List up to three significant impacts of your program. Impact statements should be one to three sentences and should be written in a way that would be meaningful to the public.

1. Have demonstrated that optimum irrigation of cotton during the 2006 & 2007 growing seasons had the potential to increase gross revenue by $130,000 on a two hundred acre center pivot. Over irrigatiion and under irrigation would have only increased gross revenue by $75,000 and $65,000, respectively.

2. Eric Caldwell has successfully completed his Masters Degree funded by Philip Morris-USA. His work has demonstrated that irrigation and reduction of nitrogen applicarion via fertigation can reduce nitrosamine formation by 65%, thus reducing the cancer risks of Tobacco products.


B. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS (EXTENSION, RESEARCH AND TEACHING). As applicable, list title, names of participants (PIs, Leaders, Co-PIs, Co-leaders, Collaborators etc.), project number, sponsor, your role ( leader/co-leader/collaborator) and your percent effort on the project as stated in the project description or document.

1. Optimum Pumpkin Production comparing Irrigation Levels under Plastic Mulch versus Bare Soil. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department, REC at Greeneville, and the Plateau REC. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 30%), J. W. Hitch (5%), R. Ellis (5%) W. C. Wright (10%), E. F. Caldwell (10%), R. Hensley (20%) and A. B. Smith (20%), 2007.

2. Forage Irrigation in Tennessee. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department and the Highland Rim REC. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 35%), H. Savoy (10%), G. Bates (10%), B. Sims (10%), and B. Fisher (35%), 2007.

3. Sprinkler Package Evaluation for Center Pivot Irrigation of Row Crops in Humid Regions. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department and the Milan REC. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 30%), W. Nichols (30%), D. Tyler (5%), J. Lee (5%), B. Brown (10%), J. McClure (10%), and J. Williams (10%), 2007.

4. Real-Time Crop Water Use and Weather Data for Tennessee. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department and cooperation with Extension Specialists, and Extension Agents. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 20%), J. Wilkerson (5%), W. C. Wright (50%), G. Grandle (10%), J. Buchanan (5%), S. C. Danehower (5%), and T. Sullivan (5%), 2007.

5. Management of Irrigation Systems in Tennessee (MOIST): an Irrigation Scheduling Spreadsheet. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 85%) and S. C. Danehower (15%), 2007.

6. Fertigation of Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels. Funded by Philip Morris USA ($104,189). Leib, B. G. (co-leader, 20%), H. Savoy (20%), E. Caldwell (25%), H. P. Denton (5%), B. Sims (5%), R. Ellis (5%), C. Click (10%) and W. Pitt (10%), 2007.

7. Low Cost Irrigation of Bermuda Grass for Small Acreage. Funded by the Grazing Coalition. P. Shelby (60%) and B. G. Leib (Co-Leader, 40%), 2007.

8. Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment. Funded by Cotton Incorporated ($27,000). Leib, B. G. (35%), C. O. Gwathmay (30%), A. Fox (20%), C. Michaud (10%), and C. Mains (5%), 2007.

9. A Revolving Fund to Promotion Soil Moisture Monitoring and Irrigation Scheduling in Tennessee. Internally funded by the Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department ($2,000 from end-of-year extension funds), Extension Specialists, and Extension Agents. Leib, B. G. (Leader, 45%), S. C. Danehower (25%), J. Parker (5%), G. Allen (5%), R. Buntin (5%), T. Campbell (5%), T. Sullivan (5%), and P. Shelby (5%), 2007.

10. 2006 Tennessee Irrigation Survey Of Row Crop Production. Internally funded by University of Tennessee Extension. Leib, B. G. (70%) S. C. Danehower (20%) and West Tennesssee Extension Agents (10%), 2007.


C. INSTRUCTION, TEACHING AND EXTENSION EDUCATION. Detail credit and non-credit instruction and teaching activities.

1. College credit instruction. List courses in which you were an instructor or guest lecturer during the current calendar year. Include special topics, independent study and internship courses. Provide course number and title, your involvement, semester(s), credit hours and number of students. Please append a summary of teaching evaluations (student and/or peer) if this information is available.

Course number and title Involvement Semester Credit
hours
Number of
students
         

2. Formal continuing education (certification programs, seminar series, in-service training, field days, faculty and/or staff training, journal club, etc.). Provide descriptive title of activity, your involvement, number of participants or students involved, number and duration of each session.

Descrip. title, including dates Involvement Number of students
or participants
Number of
sessions
Duration of each
session (hours)
“Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment” to 40 professional at the Tennessee Agricultural Production Association Meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, August 1, 2007.Total401.4
“Deficit Irrigation of Cotton” to 40 extension agents & experiment station staff at the UT Extension: Row Crop In-Service Training, Jackson, TN, January ?, 2007.Total401.25
“Effective Rainfall in Plasticulture: Plastic Mulch versus Bare Soil at Variable Irrigation Rates in Pumpkin” to 40 professional at the Tennessee Agricultural Production Association Meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, August 1, 2007.Total401.4
“Irrigation 101: Troubleshooting the Troublesome” to 80 professionals at the 2007 Grounds Management Short Course in Knoxville, TN, January 16 & 17, 2007.Total801.5
“Optimum Pumpkin Production: Plastic Mulch versus Bare Soil at Variable Irrigation Rates” to 15 UT colleagues at the Update Meeting for Fruit & Vegetable Research/Extension at Crossville, TN, October, 23, 2007.Total151.3

3. Extension presentations and workshops. Indicate title, type, and scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
“Effect of Irrigation, Fertigation, and Plasticulture on Burley Yield, Quality and TSNA to 40 researchers at the Phillip Morris USA – TSNA Meeting, Richmond VA, December 3&4, 2007Regional140 
Eric Caldwell (MS student) presented “Cultural Practices that Promote the Efficient Use of Nitrogen in Tobacco Production” to 75 members of the North Carolina Irrigation Society, Raleigh, NC, November, 7, 2007. Regional175 
“Deficit Irrigation of Cotton” to 30 producers and professionals at the Tennessee Cotton Support Committee Meeting in Jackson, TN, July 17, 2007.Multi-county130 
“Irrigation Management” to 20 producers and extension agents at the Irrigation and Precision Agriculture Meeting in Mason, TN, February 22, 2007.Multi-county120 
“Deficit Irrigation of Cotton” to 25 producers and extension agents in Dyersburg, TN, February 12, 2007.Multi-county125 

4. Public addresses to lay audiences (TV/radio presentations, service groups, etc.). Indicate title, type, scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
Gwathmey, C. O., B. G. Leib. 2007. TV Interview on Deficit Irrigation of Cotton with Chuck Denny, University of Tennessee.Regional1

5. Presentations at professional meetings, without published abstracts. List presenter, co-authors (if any), title, date and name of meeting (list scientific oral or poster presentations having published abstracts or proceedings at D5).

“Deficit irrigation of cotton, mint, and apples” (3 talks) to 50 professionals at the Water Productivity in Agriculture and Horticulture Conference: How can less water be used more efficiently?, Copenhagen and Arhus Universities, Denmark, July 2-4, 2007.

6. Student mentoring. Fill in the boxes to indicate number of students in each category.

Level of students No. of students advised No. of active graduate committees on which you served as:
Major professor Committee member
Undergraduate      
Masters    
Doctoral    

7. Student or commodity club activities (e.g. club advisor, team competitions, honor or professional societies, etc.). List the club or group; your role with the club or group; and the activities, honors or awards received by this group under your mentorship.

8. Other instructional and teaching activities.


D. PUBLICATIONS. List only publications that were published during the annual reporting period (for #8, submitted during reporting period). Format citations as typical and appropriate for outlet. If a co-author(s) is a student or was working under your direct supervision, place an asterisk after that person's name.

1. Refereed articles or refereed reviews appearing in peer-reviewed professional journals.

Szogi, A. A., B. G. Leib, C. A. Redulla, R. G. Stevens, G. R. Matthews, and D. Strausz.  2007.  Erosion control practices integrated with polyacrylamide for nutrient reduction in rill irrigation.  Agricultural Water Management 91:43-50.

2. Book chapters or books.

3. Bulletins, reports, circulars, pamphlets, factsheets.

4. Popular press, trade, UTIA magazine or newsletter articles.

5. Abstracts from scientific or discipline meetings, papers from conference proceedings, etc.

E. F. Caldwell, B. G. Leib, and H. J. Savoy.  2007.  A productivity comparison of Burley Tobacco growing practices: irrigation, fertigation, and plasticulture.  Proceedings (paper is missing from the data base?) of the ASABE Annual International Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 17 – 20, 2007.

E. F. Caldwell, B. G. Leib, and H. J. Savoy.  2007.  Efficient management practices in Burley Tobacco production: irrigation, fertigation, and plasticulture.  Poster at the Southeast Regional Meeting of ASABE, Fletcher, NC May 31 – June 1, 2007.  (invited)

6. Theses/Dissertations completed by students that you directed.

E. F. Caldwell*  2007.  Irrigation, fertigation, and plasticulture in Burley Tobacco production: impact on yield, quality, and nitrosamines.  University of Tennessee, Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science.

7. Other publications.

8. Articles submitted during the reporting period that are in review, in press or rejected. Please do not list articles in preparation.


E. FUNDING. Format each entry as a citation, include as applicable: investigators (with percent effort shown on grant or contract document), title, source/agency.

1. Grant and contract proposals submitted but not awarded during this reporting period. Indicate date of submission and status (still pending, rejected).

2. Grants and contracts awarded during this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Savoy, H. J. (65%), B. G. Leib (30%), Gary Bates (5%), Debbie Joines (5%).  Verification of University of Tennessee Fertilizer Recommendations in On-Farm and Research Center De.  Tennessee Department of Agriculture.  7/1/07-6/30/10.  $50,000.

Leib, B. G. (50%), G. O. Gwathmay (40%), C. Main (10%).  1st Renewal: Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment.  Cotton Incorporated.  1/1/08-12/31/08.  $13,500.

Leib, B. G. (30%), J. R. Buchanan (20%), E. F. Caldwell (50%).  Dissemination of Irrigation Research That Increases Burley Tobacco Yield and Quality While Reducing .  Tobacco Education and Research Council, Inc. .  1/1/08-8/31/08.  $16,700.

Leib, B. G. (30%), H. J. Savoy (25%), H. P. Denton (40%), E. F. Caldwell (%).  Plasticulture in Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels..  Phillip Morris-USA.  7/1/07-5/31/08.  $13,110.

3. Grants and contracts awarded in past years that continued into this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Leib, B. G. (40%), H. J. Savoy (35%), J. R. Buchanan (10%), H. Paul Denton (15%).  Fertigation of Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels.  Philip Morris USA.  6/1/05-5/31/07.  $91,079.

Phillip Shelby (55%), B. G. Leib (45%).  Low Cost Irrigation of Bermuda grass for small acreage.  USDA-NRCS Grazing Coalition of Tennessee.  6/1/05-12/31/08.  $2,000.

Leib, B. G. (60%), C. Owen Gwathmey (40%).  Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment.  Cotton, Inc..  1/1/07-12/31/07.  $13,500.

4. Gifts. List recipients, donor, items or amount donated and dollar equivalent received during the reporting period.

5. Grant reports submitted. List authors, title, to whom submitted, date submitted.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarter Reports: Deficit Irrigation of Cotton for Optimum Return on Investment. Funded by Cotton Incorporated ($13,500). Leib, B. G., G. O. Gwathmey and C. Main, January 2007 to December 2007.

Annual Report: Fertigation of Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels. Funded by Phillip Morris USA ($91,079). Leib, B. G., H. Savoy, H. P. Denton, B. Sims, R. Ellis, and J. Buchanan, July 1, 2005 to August 30, 2007.



6. Other (e.g. sales, royalties).


F. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.

1. Tech. advances (intell. prop., patent, copyright, products, processes, genetic lines/varieties).

2. Computer software (e.g. instructional or research software, CD ROMs).

3. Educational tools.

4. Internet activities.

5. Other creative products and activities.


G. SERVICE. List client outreach activities (both public and private sectors) and professional service.
    
1. Client service.
 a. Commodity or discipline group service activities. List committees, offices held or other roles.

b. Clinical and diagnostic services. List type of service provided and client(s).

c. Service to individual producers, businesses, or corporations as a specialist, consultant or expert advisor (whether paid or unpaid). List your one-on-one service activities with this group of clients.

Three producer using MOIST and eight producers using the AM 400 soil moisture logger in West Tennessee during the 2007 growing season.

Served extension clientele in 2007 by responding to 16 requests for Irrigation/Water Related Plans.

Served extension clientele in 2007 by responding to 48 requests for technical assistance (some records missing due to hard drive crash).


d. Other (e.g. Ag Day activities, Varsity Visit, judging, presentations at clubs and K-12 schools).

2. Professional service (for professional colleagues).
a. Within the university.
I. Committee work. Briefly describe your involvement during the reporting period.
i. University.

ii. UTIA.

Served the Institute of Agriculture by participating in the Environmental Stewardship Team and the Extesnion Dean’s Search Committee.

Participating in a faculty and student exchange tour between the University of Tennessee and Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. I will be in Thailand from January 17th to February 4th 2008.

iii. Department.

Served the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science Department by participating in the Seminar Committee, and Awards Committees (2003 to 2007). Chair of Awards Committee in 2007.

II. Other (e.g. technical assistance to colleagues, peer reviews,
mentoring of junior faculty, hosting visiting scientists).


Served as a reviewer for journal article: ASABE SW-06728 (2007).



b. Outside the university (e.g. committee work/offices in professional or public organizations or societies, editorship, editorial boards, review of manuscripts (indicate outlet) and project proposals (indicate agency), meetings organized, member of grant review panel or study section, moderator, etc.).

Served as the outside member on the Ph.D assessment committee for Shahnazari, A., C. R. Jensen, M. N. Andersen, F. Lui, and J. R. Jensen defending the dissertation entitled “Water-saving irrigation strategies in potatoes,” Copenhagen, Denmark, July 5, 2007.


H. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (meetings, workshops, classes, trips, etc.). List the event or activity, sponsor, duration of event and your role.

Attended ASABE Annual International Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 17 – 20, 2007.

Attended the Southeast Regional Meeting of ASABE, Fletcher, NC May 31 – June 1, 2007

Attended the Water Productivity in Agriculture and Horticulture Conference: How can less water be used more efficiently?, Copenhagen and Arhus Universities, Denmark, July 2-4, 2007.


I. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION. List the postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, technicians, extension associates, extension assistants, graduate assistants, undergraduate students, clerical personnel or others that you supervised during the year.

ClassificationFTE's per semester
SpringSummerFall
Postdoctoral fellows      
Research associates, assistants, technicians      
Extension associates, assistants      
Graduate students, assistants
Undergraduate students    
Clerical personnel      
Other      


J. HONORS AND AWARDS. List honors and awards received during reporting period, including the name of the organization presenting the award.