A regional approach to improving soybean irrigation management in the Southeastern United States

B. Leib, T. Knappenberger, G. Vellidis, O. Wendroth

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Soybean irrigation in the Southeastern United States presents significant challenges due to unpredictable periods of excess rainfall or drought, a wide range of planting dates/maturity groups, and extreme soil textural differences combined with varying degrees of drainage. The Universities of Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and Auburn received supplemental funds from the Southern Soybean Research Project in 2015 through 2018 to conduct a regional project that shared research results with the goal of improving irrigation management tools for producers. The best irrigation treatments in sandy soil increased yield from 15 to 100% with irrigation amounts ranging from 8.3 to 17 cm that resulted in irrigation water use efficiencies from 53 to 86 kg ha-1cm-1. The best irrigation treatments in higher water-holding capacity soils increased yield from 15 to 27% with irrigation amounts ranging from 4.6 to 11.9 cm that resulted in irrigation water use efficiencies from 15 to 146 kg ha-1cm-1. Irrigation beyond these optimum amounts sometimes resulted in yield reductions of up to 7%. Sandy soils required more irrigation and had a bigger impact on yield than soybean irrigation in higher water-holding capacity soils but soybean irrigation in the southeast is supplemental with the greater portion of the crop's water needs being meet via rainfall. The wide range of soybean response to irrigation is due to the year-to-year variability in rainfall and growing conditions. As a result of this project, a new generation of irrigation scheduling tools and extension materials were developed that benefited from the larger sphere of knowledge provided by a regional approach.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium
ISBN (Electronic)9781713839743
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Event6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium 2020 - San Antonio, United States
Duration: Nov 30 2020Dec 4 2020

Publication series

Name6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium

Conference

Conference6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Antonio
Period11/30/2012/4/20

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The Soybean SmartIrrigation App was developed and tested extensively on university research plots and demonstrated on-farm. It was publicly released on 01 April 2019 and has a national footprint. It is available for both iOS and Android smartphones. The APP’s progress has been summarized in the United Soybean Board’s magazine Beyond the Bean: Select soybean farmers in Georgia are testing a new app to forecast and generate their irrigation schedule straight from their smartphones. The app developers are now recruiting soybean farmers in the southeastern U.S. for a region-wide evaluation during 2019. The app is available for iOS and Android phones and was developed with support from the Southern Soybean Research Program, the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Soybeans, the South Carolina Soybean Board, and the Alabama Soybean Producers. Interested in testing the app on your farm? Learn more about it by going to www.smartirrigationapps.org or connecting with Dr. George Vellidis

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 DNIS.All right reserved.

Keywords

  • Irrigation scheduling
  • Matric potential sensors
  • Site-Specific irrigation
  • Soybean
  • Water balance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Soil Science

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