Simulated Effects of Fertilizer Management on Nitrate Loss with Tile Drainage Water for Continuous Corn

Water table management systems can be designed to alleviate soil water excesses and deficits, as well as reduce nitrate leaching losses in tile discharge. With this in mind, a standard tile drainage (DR) system was compared over 8 years (1991 to 1999) to a controlled tile drainage/subirrigation (CDS) system on a low-slope (0.05 to 0.1%) Brookston clay loam soil (Typic Argiaquoll) in southwestern Ontario, Canada. In the CDS system, tile discharge was controlled to prevent excessive drainage, and water was pumped back up the tile lines (subirrigation) to replenish the crop root zone during water deficit periods. In the first phase of the study (1991 to 1994), continuous corn (Zea mays, L.) was grown with annual nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs as per local soil test recommendations. In the second phase (1995 to 1999), a soybean (Glycine max L., Merr.)-corn rotation was used with N fertilizer added only during the two corn years. In Phase 1 when continuous corn was grown, CDS reduced total tile discharge by 26% and total nitrate loss in tile discharge by 55%, compared to DR. In addition, the 4-year flow weighted mean (FWM) nitrate concentration in tile discharge exceeded the Canadian drinking water guideline (10 mg N l–1) under DR (11.4 mg N l–1), but not under CDS (7.0 mg N l–1). In Phase 2 during the soybean-corn rotation, CDS reduced total tile discharge by 38% and total nitrate loss in tile discharge by 66%, relative to DR. The 4-year FWM nitrate concentration during Phase 2 in tile discharge was below the drinking water guideline for both DR (7.3 mg N l–1) and CDS (4.0 mg N l–1). During both phases of the experiment, the CDS treatment caused only minor increases in nitrate loss in surface runoff relative to DR. Hence CDS decreased FWM nitrate concentrations, total drainage water loss, and total nitrate loss in tile discharge relative to DR. In addition, soybean-corn rotation reduced FWM nitrate concentrations and total nitrate loss in tile discharge relative to continuous corn. CDS and crop rotations with reduced N fertilizer inputs can thus improve the quality of tile discharge water substantially.

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Effect of controlled drainage and tillage on soil structure and tile drainage nitrate loss at the field scale

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1998.0593 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 38 (4-5) ◽

pp. 103-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

C. S. Tan ◽

C. F. Drury ◽

M. Soultani ◽

I. J. van Wesenbeeck ◽

H. Y. F. Ng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Structure ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Drainage System ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

No Tillage ◽

Controlled Drainage ◽

Nitrate Loss ◽

Free Drainage

Conservation tillage has become an attractive form of agricultural management practices for corn and soybean production on heavy textured soil in southern Ontario because of the potential for improving soil quality. A controlled drainage system combined with conservation tillage practices has also been reported to improve water quality. In Southwestern Ontario, field scale on farm demonstration sites were established in a paired watershed (no-tillage vs. conventional tillage) on clay loam soil to study the effect of tillage system on soil structure and water quality. The sites included controlled drainage and free drainage systems to monitor their effect on nitrate loss in the tile drainage water. Soil structure, organic matter content and water storage in the soil profile were improved with no-tillage (NT) compared to conventional tillage (CT). No-tillage also increased earthworm populations. No-tillage was found to have higher tile drainage volume and nitrate loss which were attributed to an increase in soil macropores from earthworm activity. The controlled drainage system (CD) reduced nitrate loss in tile drainage water by 14% on CT site and 25.5% on NT site compared to the corresponding free drainage system (DR) from May, 1995 to April 30, 1997. No-tillage farming practices are definitely enhanced by using a controlled drainage system for preventing excessive nitrate leaching through tile drainage. Average soybean yields for CT site were about 12 to 14% greater than the NT site in 1995 and 1996. However, drainage systems had very little effect on soybean yields in 1995 and 1996 due to extremely dry growing seasons.

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Reducing Nitrate Loss in Tile Drainage Water with Cover Crops and Water-Table Management Systems

Journal of Environmental Quality ◽

10.2134/jeq2012.0495 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 587-598 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

C. F. Drury ◽

C. S. Tan ◽

T. W. Welacky ◽

W. D. Reynolds ◽

T. Q. Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Table ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

Management Systems ◽

Nitrate Loss ◽

Water Table Management

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Simulated N management effects on corn yield and tile-drainage nitrate loss

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.04.011 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 140 (3) ◽

pp. 272-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

R.W. Malone ◽

L. Ma ◽

P. Heilman ◽

D.L. Karlen ◽

R.S. Kanwar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tile Drainage ◽

Corn Yield ◽

Nitrate Loss ◽

N Management ◽

Management Effects

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Nitrate removal from tile drainage water: The performance of denitrifying woodchip bioreactors amended with activated carbon and flaxseed cake

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105937 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 229 ◽

pp. 105937 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Arvydas Povilaitis ◽

Jolanta Matikienė

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Nitrate Removal ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage

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Survival of Escherichia coli in agricultural soil and presence in tile drainage and shallow groundwater

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss09113 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 90 (3) ◽

pp. 495-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

A C VanderZaag ◽

K J Campbell ◽

R C Jamieson ◽

A C Sinclair ◽

L G Hynes

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Fecal Contamination ◽

Shallow Groundwater ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

Subsurface Water ◽

Bacterial Survival ◽

Manure Application ◽

Monitoring Wells ◽

E Coli

Animal agriculture and the use of manure as a soil amendment can lead to enteric pathogens entering water used for drinking, irrigation, and recreation. The presence of Escherichia coli in water is commonly used as an indicator of recent fecal contamination; however, a few recent studies suggest some E. coli populations are able to survive for extended time periods in agricultural soils. This important finding needs to be further assessed with field-scale studies. To this end, we conducted a 1-yr study within a 9.6-ha field that had received fertilizer and semi-solid dairy cattle manure annually for the past decade. Escherichia coli concentrations were monitored throughout the year (before and after manure application) in the effluent from tile drains (at approximately 80 cm depth) and in 5- to 8-m-deep groundwater wells. Escherichia coli was detected in both groundwater and tile drain effluent at concentrations exceeding irrigation and recreational water-quality guidelines. Within two of the monitoring wells, concentrations of E. coli, and frequency of detections, were greatest several months after the manure application. In two monitoring wells and one tile drain the frequency of E. coli detections was higher before manure was applied than after. This suggests the presence and abundance of E. coli was not strongly related to the timing of manure application. A laboratory study using naladixic acid resistant E. coli showed the bacteria could survive at least two times longer in soil samples collected from the study field than in soil from the adjacent riparian area, which had not received manure applications. Together, field and lab results suggest that a consistent source of E. coli exists within the field, which may include “naturalized” strains of E. coli. Further studies are required to determine the specific source of E. coli detected in tile drainage water and shallow groundwater. If the E. coli recovered in subsurface water is primarily mobilized from naturalized populations residing within the soil profile, this indicator organism would have little value as an indicator of recent fecal contamination. Key words: Bacterial survival, naturalized Escherichia coli, groundwater, tile drainage

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Recession of phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in tile drainage water after high poultry manure applications in two consecutive years

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2014.08.012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 146 ◽

pp. 208-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Barbro Ulén ◽

Ingrid Wesström ◽

Göran Johansson ◽

Lovisa Stjernman Forsberg

Keyword(s):

Poultry Manure ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations

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Prediction of phosphorus concentration in tile-drainage water from the Montreal Lowlands soils

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/s02-029 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

pp. 73-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

S. Beauchemin ◽

R. R. Simard ◽

M. A. Bolinder ◽

M. C. Nolin ◽

D. Cluis

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Drainage Water ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Surface Soils ◽

Drainage Systems ◽

Soil P ◽

P Concentration ◽

Soil Units ◽

Total P

Subsurface drainage systems can be a significant pathway for P transfer from some soils to surface waters. The objective of the study was to determine P concentration in tile-drainage water and its relationship to P status in surface soils (A horizons) from an intensively cultivated area in the Montreal Lowlands. The profiles of 43 soil units were characterized for their P contents and pedogenic properties. Tile-drainage water P concentrations were monitored over a 3-y r period on a weekly basis on 10 soil units, and four times during each growing season for the other 33 units. The soil units were grouped into lower and higher P sorbing soils using multiple discriminant equations developed in an earlier related study. The A horizons of the lower P sorbing soils had an elevated P saturation degree [mean Mehlich(III) P/Al = 17%] associated with total P concentrations in tile-drainage water consistently greater than the surface water quality standard of 0.03 mg total P L-1. Conversely, low P concentrations in tile-drainage waters (< 0.03 mg L-1) and a moderate mean Mehlich(III) P/Al ratio of 8% were observed in the higher P sorbing soil group. Total P concentrations in drainage systems were significantly related to soil P status in surface soils. Grouping soils according to their P sorption capacities increased the power of prediction based on only one soil variable. However, accurate predictions in terms of drain P concentration can hardly be obtained unless large dataset and other factors related to field management practices and hydrology of the sites are also considered. Therefore, a better alternative to predict the risk of P leaching is to work in terms of risk classes and rely on a multiple factor index. Key words: Tile-drainage water, phosphorus, P transfer, P loss, degree of soil P saturation, phosphorus index

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