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Agriculture

Selected Works

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Impacts Of Cover Crops On Phosphorus And Nitrogen Loss With Surface Runoff, Antonio Mallarino, Richard Cruse, Dan Jaynes, John Sawyer, Pablo Barbieri Jul 2016

Impacts Of Cover Crops On Phosphorus And Nitrogen Loss With Surface Runoff, Antonio Mallarino, Richard Cruse, Dan Jaynes, John Sawyer, Pablo Barbieri

John E. Sawyer

Iowa research has demonstrated that cover crops can improve soil productivity and water quality by increasing soil organic matter and reducing nitrate nitrogen (N) leaching. Other research has investigated and is investigating the agronomic and economic viability of using cereal rye cover crops in continuous corn or corn-soybean rotations. However, no Iowa research has evaluated under natural rainfall the impact of cover crops on phosphorus (P) and N loss with surface runoff interacting with other management practices. The need for this type of research was indicated in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy documents. This effort assessed what would be needed …


Impact Of 4r Management On Crop Production And Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss In Tile Drainage, Matthew Helmers, John Sawyer, Josh Sievers Jul 2016

Impact Of 4r Management On Crop Production And Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss In Tile Drainage, Matthew Helmers, John Sawyer, Josh Sievers

John E. Sawyer

Corn Belt corn and soybean producers are increasingly challenged to maximize crop production while addressing the contributions farm practices make to Gulf hypoxia. Based on the need for nitrate-N reductions to meet water quality goals, new management practices are needed to reduce nitrate-N losses at minimal cost and maximum economic benefits. This three-year field research and demonstration project is evaluating various promising N management methods and technologies by documenting the nitrate-N export and crop yield from various systems.


Impacts Of Swine Manure Application And Alternative N-Management Practices On Productivity, Sustainability And Water Quality, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Douglas Karlen, Cynthia A. Cambardella, Thomas Moorman, Thomas R. Steinheimer, Thomas S. Colvin Dec 2015

Impacts Of Swine Manure Application And Alternative N-Management Practices On Productivity, Sustainability And Water Quality, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Douglas Karlen, Cynthia A. Cambardella, Thomas Moorman, Thomas R. Steinheimer, Thomas S. Colvin

Douglas L Karlen

In the fourth year of this ongoing project, the effects of nine N-management practices under different tillage and cropping systems were evaluated. Forty experimental plots equipped with individual sumps and subsurface drainage metering and monitoring devices were used for the study. Overall results indicate that manure application rates and methods can be successfully managed for corn-soybean systems without damaging the water quality if the appropriate amount of N from swine manure can be applied.


Evaluation Of Tillage And Crop Rotation Effects On Groundwater Quality—Nashua Project, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Douglas Karlen, Thomas S. Colvin, William W. Simpkins, Vince J. Mcfadden Dec 2015

Evaluation Of Tillage And Crop Rotation Effects On Groundwater Quality—Nashua Project, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Douglas Karlen, Thomas S. Colvin, William W. Simpkins, Vince J. Mcfadden

Douglas L Karlen

Sampling shows that agricultural chemicals are occurring increasingly in ground- and surface water in Iowa. The same trend has been reported throughout the United States; one study reported finding 73 pesticides in the groundwater of 34 states. Even pesticides known to be adsorbed to soil particles (and thus relatively immobile) have been found in a few sampled wells in trace concentrations. Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) is the most common agricultural chemical found in groundwater. Nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides applied to the soil surface prior to and immediately following crop planting are particularly susceptible to surface runoff or leaching to groundwater through the …