Improving irrigation management and water quality for humid and sub-humid climates

Authors: Vories, Earl

Submitted to: University of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station Publication
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2020
Publication Date: 3/12/2020
Citation: Vories, E.D. 2020. Improving irrigation management and water quality for humid and sub-humid climates. University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center Advisory Board Meeting, March 12, 2020, Portageville, Missouri. p. 32-33.

Interpretive Summary: Information obtained in national, state, and local stakeholder meetings was used to develop a five-year research project plan that was submitted to the ARS Office of Scientific Quality Review, reviewed by scientists outside of ARS, and approved in February 2017. This project is a part of ARS National Program 211: Water Availability and Watershed Management and National Program 216: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Research. It includes studies led by both USDA-ARS and University of Missouri scientists, with a goal to develop solutions to broad water management problems with application to humid and sub-humid areas in the USA and the world. Our interdisciplinary team optimizes production systems for irrigated crops; explores applications for variable rate center pivot irrigation (VRI); and evaluates the quality of runoff from irrigated cropland. We include both small plot studies and on-farm research with active participation by producers and crop advisors, as well as cooperation with other state and federal agencies. Studies under ARS and joint leadership include: collaborating with ARS scientists in Bushland, Texas, Florence, South Carolina, and Stoneville, Mississippi, to test an ARS-developed system for VRI management; determining the variability of the cotton irrigation coefficient for irrigation scheduling; determining the parameters affecting cotton yield monitor accuracy; collaborating with ARS scientists in Florence, South Carolina, on a multi-year study to determine the impact of cover crops and reduced tillage on soil health of a cotton field with variable soil texture; and investigating soil sensing systems for better characterization of the highly variable soils of the Upper Mississippi Delta.

Technical Abstract: Information obtained in national, state, and local stakeholder meetings was used to develop a five-year research project plan that was submitted to the ARS Office of Scientific Quality Review, reviewed by scientists outside of ARS, and approved in February 2017. This project is a part of ARS National Program 211: Water Availability and Watershed Management and National Program 216: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Research. It includes studies led by both USDA-ARS and University of Missouri scientists, with a goal to develop solutions to broad water management problems with application to humid and sub-humid areas in the USA and the world. Our interdisciplinary team optimizes production systems for irrigated crops; explores applications for variable rate center pivot irrigation (VRI); and evaluates the quality of runoff from irrigated cropland. We include both small plot studies and on-farm research with active participation by producers and crop advisors, as well as cooperation with other state and federal agencies. Studies under ARS and joint leadership include: collaborating with ARS scientists in Bushland, Texas, Florence, South Carolina, and Stoneville, Mississippi, to test an ARS-developed system for VRI management; determining the variability of the cotton irrigation coefficient for irrigation scheduling; determining the parameters affecting cotton yield monitor accuracy; collaborating with ARS scientists in Florence, South Carolina, on a multi-year study to determine the impact of cover crops and reduced tillage on soil health of a cotton field with variable soil texture; and investigating soil sensing systems for better characterization of the highly variable soils of the Upper Mississippi Delta.