Impact of Long-Term Tillage Systems for Continuous Corn on Nitrate Leaching to Tile Drainage

No-tillage (NT) is becoming increasingly attractive to farmers because it clearly reduces soil erosion and production costs relative to conventional tillage (CT). However, the impacts of no-tillage on the quantity and quality of tile drainage water are less well known. Accordingly, two adjacent field scale on-farm CT and NT sites were established to compare the impacts of the two tillage systems on tile drainage and NO3-N loss in tile drainage water. The effect of the two tillage systems on soil structure, hydraulic conductivity, and earthworm population were also investigated. The total NO3-N loss in tile drainage water over the 5-yr period (1995-1999) was 82.3 kg N ha−1 for the long-term NT site and 63.7 kg N ha−1 for the long-term CT site. The long-term NT site had 48% more tile drainage (6,975 kL ha−1) than the long-term CT site (4,716 kL ha−1). The average flow weighted mean (FWM) NO3-N concentration in tile drainage water over the 5-yr period was 11.8 mg N L−1 for the NT site and 13.5 mg N L−1 for the CT site. For both tillage systems, approximately 80% of tile drainage and NO3-N loss in tile drainage water occurred during the November to April non-growing season. Long-term NT improved wet aggregate stability, increased near-surface hydraulic conductivity and increased both the number and mass of earthworms relative to long-term CT. The greater tile drainage and NO3-N loss under NT were attributed to an increase in continuous soil macropores, as implied by greater hydraulic conductivity and greater numbers of earthworms.

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Long-Term Effects of Poultry Manure Application on Nitrate Leaching in Tile Drain Water

Transactions of the ASABE ◽

10.13031/2013.42593 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 91-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

H. Q. Nguyen ◽

R. S. Kanwar ◽

N. L. Hoover ◽

P. Dixon ◽

J. Hobbs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitrate Leaching ◽

Poultry Manure ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Drain Water ◽

Manure Application

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Long-term N inputs shape microbial communities more strongly than current-year inputs in soils under 10-year continuous corn cropping

Soil Biology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108361 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 108361

Author(s):

Micaela Tosi ◽

William Deen ◽

Rhae Drijber ◽

Morgan McPherson ◽

Ashley Stengel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Continuous Corn

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Soil mineral nitrogen and nitrate leaching losses in soil tillage systems combined with a catch crop

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/s0167-1987(98)00197-4 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 115-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

Maria Stenberg ◽

Helena Aronsson ◽

Börje Lindén ◽

Tomas Rydberg ◽

Arne Gustafson

Keyword(s):

Nitrate Leaching ◽

Mineral Nitrogen ◽

Soil Tillage ◽

Catch Crop ◽

Soil Mineral ◽

Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

Leaching Losses

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Water Table Management Reduces Tile Nitrate Loss in Continuous Corn and in a Soybean-Corn Rotation

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1100/tsw.2001.268 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 163-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Craig F. Drury ◽

Chin S. Tan ◽

John D. Gaynor ◽

John W. Daniel Reynolds ◽

Thomas W. Welacky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Table ◽

Nitrate Concentration ◽

Tile Drainage ◽

N Fertilizer ◽

Phase 2 ◽

Nitrate Loss ◽

Continuous Corn ◽

Water Table Management ◽

Drinking Water Guideline

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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Long-term yield and water use efficiency under various tillage systems in Mediterranean rainfed conditions

Annals of Applied Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1744-7348.2007.00142.x ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 150 (3) ◽

pp. 293-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

C. Cantero-Martínez ◽

P. Angás ◽

J. Lampurlanés

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

Rainfed Conditions ◽

Use Efficiency

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LONG-TERM TILLAGE EFFECTS ON CONTINUOUS CORN YIELDS

Conference on Applied Statistics in Agriculture ◽

10.4148/2475-7772.1315 ◽

1996 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

T. B. Bailey ◽

J. B. Swan ◽

R L. Higgs ◽

W. H. Paulson

Keyword(s):

Continuous Corn

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Soil properties after 36 years of N fertilization under continuous corn and corn-soybean management

10.5194/soil-2021-26 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nakian Kim ◽

Gevan D. Behnke ◽

María B. Villamil

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Block Design ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽

Continuous Corn

Abstract. Modern agricultural systems rely on inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization to enhance crop yields, but its overuse may negatively affect soil properties. Our objective was to investigate the effect of long-term N fertilization on key soil properties under continuous corn [Zea mays L.] (CCC) and both the corn (Cs) and soybean [Glycine max L. Merr.] (Sc) phases of a corn-soybean rotation. Research plots were established in 1981 with treatments arranged as a split-plot design in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plot was crop rotation (CCC, Cs, and Sc), and the subplots were N fertilizer rates of 0 kg N ha−1 (N0, controls), and 202 kg N ha−1, and 269 kg N ha−1 (N202, and N269, respectively). After 36 years and within the CCC, the yearly addition of N269 compared to unfertilized controls significantly increased cation exchange capacity (CEC, 65 % higher under N269) and acidified the top 15 cm of the soil (pH 4.8 vs. pH 6.5). Soil organic matter (SOM) and total carbon stocks (TCs) were not affected by treatments, yet water aggregate stability (WAS) decreased by 6.7 % within the soybean phase of the CS rotation compared to CCC. Soil bulk density (BD) decreased with increased fertilization by 5 % from N0 to N269. Although ammonium (NH4+) did not differ by treatments, nitrate (NO3−) increased eight-fold with N269 compared to N0, implying increased nitrification. Soils of unfertilized controls under CCC have over twice the available phosphorus level (P) and 40 % more potassium (K) than the soils of fertilized plots (N202 and N269). On average, corn yields increased 60 % with N fertilization compared to N0. Likewise, under N0, rotated corn yielded 45 % more than CCC; the addition of N (N202 and N269) decreased the crop rotation benefit to 17 %. Our results indicated that due to the increased level of corn residues returned to the soil in fertilized systems, long-term N fertilization improved WAS and BD, yet not SOM, at the cost of significant soil acidification and greater risk of N leaching and increased nitrous oxide emissions.

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