At the invitation of Professor Tyson Ochsner, Professor Li Kejiang of the Dryland Farming Institute led a team to Oklahoma State University from August 12th to 23rd, conducted exchange visits on the research areas of rainfed agriculture, crop rotation, soil moisture monitoring, water resources management and meteorological data monitoring.
The delegation visited the Soil Moisture Monitoring Station of Oklahoma State University, the National Meteorological Center and the Water Resources Center, exchanged information with relevant experts and professors. They also visited farms with irrigation system and had talks with the farmers on the application and popularity of the mobile software system for the soil moisture monitoring and irrigation control.
During the visit, Li Kejiang, the head of the delegation, made an academic report on the topic "Brief introduction of agriculture water use in Hebei Pronvice China". More than 30 experts and scholars in the US side interested in the relevant fields listened to the report, and both sides had discussions right after the presentation.
During the exchange, the Chinese American scholars paid close attention to the topic of groundwater over-exploitation control and ecological restoration in China, which has similarities with the situation in Oklahoma.
In order to make better understanding between each other, Li Kejiang invited Professor Tyson Ochsner to visit the Dryland Farming Institute in the spring of next year.
The delegation consisted of 4 people and supported by the key R&D project of Hebei Province entitled the China-US Joint Research on Soil Moisture Monitoring and Drought Warning.
The year 2019 is the key period for the implementation of the project. This visit will enhance the communication and cooperation of the two sides and help the development of dryland farming technologies in Heilonggang area, reducing the dropping rate of watertable in the underground water over-exploitation region.