Location: Water Quality and Ecology Research
Project Number: 6060-13660-009-022-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 7, 2022
End Date: Jan 6, 2025
Objective:
Evaluate tillage and cover crop conservation management practices on pesticides and nutrients lost in runoff.
Approach:
Excessive and incorrectly timed tillage, irrigation, or pesticide applications are leading causes of agricultural non-point source pollution and aquifer decline in the Mid-Southern USA. Water quality and quantity problems could be improved if more producers adopt management strategies that reduce tillage, increase surface residues, and optimize irrigation timing and delivery. Sustainable cotton production systems must be developed for producers in the Mid-Southern USA. A cooperative project is established at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, Mississippi, to quantify the effects of conservation practices on erosion, runoff, and agrochemical transport. Experimental objectives, unique capabilities due to field instrumentation, and expertise of personnel involved in this research also align with those of cotton stakeholders. Results from this study will be disseminated through extension and outreach efforts, promoting the adoption of a successful conservation system in the Mid-Southern USA.
