Articles
Water use efficiency and nutrient loading in an automated subirrigation-drainage system for Florida vegetables
Article number
1468_18
Pages
133 – 140
Language
English
Abstract
Seepage (SEE) irrigation maintains crop moisture by raising the water table through field furrows, but it is inefficient and offers limited drainage control.
Subirrigation-drainage tile (SDT) systems improve water-table management, and automation has the potential to further enhance irrigation efficiency and reduce nutrient losses.
This study evaluated the irrigation water productivity (IWP), crop yield, and edge-of-field nutrient loading of an automated SDT (ASDT) system compared with a conventional SEE system in potato production on sandy soils in Northeast Florida.
A field study was established in a sandy soil under ASDT and SEE side-by-side.
The ASDT field was equipped with remotely controlled (open/close) irrigation and drainage valves operated through the SmartDrainage platform (AgriDrain Corp.), while SEE drainage was manually managed.
During 2023-2024, water table levels, soil moisture, irrigation and drainage volumes, and nutrient concentrations in soil (0-45 cm) and drainage water were monitored.
ASDT maintained a deeper water table than SEE (0.76±0.15 m vs. 0.62±0.16 m year-round) and reduced irrigation by up to 54% and drainage losses by up to 56%. Potato yields were similar between systems (23.0-33.5 Mg ha-1), but IWP under ASDT was 4.3-10.2 kg m-3 higher than SEE. Although ASDT had higher soil and drainage-water N concentrations, cumulative total-N loads were 7.31 kg ha-1 lower than SEE over two years due to reduced drainage volumes.
Total-P concentrations in drainage water were similar between systems, but SEE produced greater annual P loads (up to 14.9 kg ha-1), driven by higher drainage.
In both systems, nutrient losses peaked during the cover-crop (non-cash crop) period.
Automated SDT demonstrated strong potential for sustainable water-table and nutrient management in sandy-soil vegetable systems.
Subirrigation-drainage tile (SDT) systems improve water-table management, and automation has the potential to further enhance irrigation efficiency and reduce nutrient losses.
This study evaluated the irrigation water productivity (IWP), crop yield, and edge-of-field nutrient loading of an automated SDT (ASDT) system compared with a conventional SEE system in potato production on sandy soils in Northeast Florida.
A field study was established in a sandy soil under ASDT and SEE side-by-side.
The ASDT field was equipped with remotely controlled (open/close) irrigation and drainage valves operated through the SmartDrainage platform (AgriDrain Corp.), while SEE drainage was manually managed.
During 2023-2024, water table levels, soil moisture, irrigation and drainage volumes, and nutrient concentrations in soil (0-45 cm) and drainage water were monitored.
ASDT maintained a deeper water table than SEE (0.76±0.15 m vs. 0.62±0.16 m year-round) and reduced irrigation by up to 54% and drainage losses by up to 56%. Potato yields were similar between systems (23.0-33.5 Mg ha-1), but IWP under ASDT was 4.3-10.2 kg m-3 higher than SEE. Although ASDT had higher soil and drainage-water N concentrations, cumulative total-N loads were 7.31 kg ha-1 lower than SEE over two years due to reduced drainage volumes.
Total-P concentrations in drainage water were similar between systems, but SEE produced greater annual P loads (up to 14.9 kg ha-1), driven by higher drainage.
In both systems, nutrient losses peaked during the cover-crop (non-cash crop) period.
Automated SDT demonstrated strong potential for sustainable water-table and nutrient management in sandy-soil vegetable systems.
Authors
J.M. Oliveira, L. Zotarelli, M.W. Clark
Keywords
potato, sandy soils, seepage irrigation, water retention curves, water table
Groups involved
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