Date of Award
4-14-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Agriculture, MSA
First Advisor
Michele Reba
Committee Members
Christopher Henry; Tina Teague
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2016 L34
Abstract
Groundwater depletion is a rising concern in the Midsouth region of the U.S. Many crops depend on the use of groundwater in order to meet water demands and potentially reach higher yields. Products and practices have been developed to conserve both groundwater and surface water by using easily collected field data to improve irrigation advance uniformity, infiltration, irrigation runoff water quality, and reduce irrigation runoff. A field demonstration was initiated to determine the value of incorporating the computerized hole selection program, Pipe Planner, into two commercial cotton fields and two commercial soybean fields. The cotton fields were located in Judd Hill, Arkansas (Poinsett County) and the soybean fields were located near Osceola, Arkansas (Mississippi County). A major objective of this demonstration was to field test irrigation advance tracking equipment, well water output, and water discharge on these fields. The use of a computerized hole selection program helped reduce water usage by increasing distribution uniformity and reduced irrigation times as well as excessive runoff in response to using the recommended hole sizes. The use of the computerized hole selection program also helped reduce electricity and fuel costs and the amount of water being used from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) through reduced well operating times. Two additional field demonstrations were initiated to evaluate the use of Polyacrylamide (PAM). A major objective of these demonstrations was to quantify the impact of PAM application on cotton production, irrigation advance, and water quality. One field demonstration was located near Manila, Arkansas (Mississippi County) and the other was located in Judd Hill, Arkansas (Poinsett County). Both of these demonstrations were conducted on cotton fields. However, the applications of PAM were different. In Mississippi County, a powder form of PAM was applied in the furrows that were treated and compared to untreated furrows. A liquid form of PAM was directly injected into irrigation water in Poinsett County in the treated furrows and compared to untreated and rainfed. Water quality data were also analyzed to determine if the addition of PAM decreased soil sediments and nutrients in the irrigation runoff. Irrigation advance tracking units were used to monitor the irrigation advance in both locations and the advance and yield results were compared between the treatments. In Mississippi County, the irrigation water advanced faster in the PAM treatments. There was no significant difference in yield between the PAM and untreated treatments. In Poinsett County, irrigation results showed the opposite effect. The irrigation water in the untreated furrows advanced faster than in the PAM treated furrows. There was a significant difference between the treatments with both irrigated furrows yielding well above the rainfed treatment; but the untreated furrows out-yielded the PAM-treated furrows. There was no significant difference in water quality between the two irrigated treatments.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lewis, Austin Lorenzo, "On-Farm Demonstration of Computerized Hole Selection Programs in Arkansas Commercial Soybean and Cotton Fields and Evaluation of Polyacrylamide in Plot-Scale Furrow Irrigated Cotton" (2016). Student Theses and Dissertations. 624.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/624
