Plant productivity and nutrient uptake as affected by tillage and site‐position in furrow‐irrigated rice

Abstract

Furrow-irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a relatively new production system that has been shown to have increased water-use efficiency and reduced operational costs.However, due to spatial variations in soil moisture, field studies are necessary to evaluate potential resulting variations in rice growth and yield in the furrow-irrigated production system. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of tillage practice (conventional tillage, CT; no-tillage, NT) and site position (up-, mid-, and downslope) on aboveground biomass, yield, and plant nutrient uptake from rice grown in a silt-loam soil in a direct-seeded, furrow-irrigated production system in eastern Arkansas. Field research was conducted from May to September during the 2018 and 2019 rice growing seasons. Total aboveground dry matter, vegetative dry matter, and yield were unaffected (P > .05) by tillage treatment or site position in either growing season. Vegetative tissue nutrient concentrations and uptake were generally at least 10% greater (P < .05) under CT than NT but did not substantially differ by site position during the drier growing season (2018). During the wetter growing season (2019), vegetative tissue nutrient concentrations and uptake were generally at least 20% greater (P < .05) at the up-than at the mid-or down-slope positions.Results suggest that different approaches, in terms of soil and nutrient management per site position, in combination with tillage practices, may need to be considered for implementation to maximize nutrient uptake and reduce losses, thus improving the agronomic suitability of the furrow-irrigated rice production system. INTRODUCTIONRice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food for a large human population and is grown in many areas around the globe.

Struvite-phosphorus effects on greenhouse gas emissions and plant and soil response in a furrow-irrigated rice production system in eastern Arkansas

“…Following procedures detailed in previous studies (Rogers et al, 2014;Smartt et al, 2016;Rector et al, 2018;Della Lunga et al, 2023a), on May 6, 2022, 18, 30-cm diameter PVC base collars were installed on top of the raised bed in each plot to a depth of 12 cm to allow free water movement through four, 12.5-mm-diameter holes drilled in each collar. Each base collar contained four plants as a portion of two adjacent rice rows.…”

“…Gas sample collection occurred on each sampling date between the same temporal window (i.e., 0800 h to 0900 h) following procedures used in numerous previous studies (Rogers et al, 2014;Smartt et al, 2016;Rector et al, 2018;Della Lunga et al, 2021a,c, 2023a. Gas sampling performed during the temporal window between 0800 and 1000 h represents the best time window to estimate daily GHG fluxes in rice production systems under flood- (Rogers et al, 2014;Smartt et al, 2016;Rector et al, 2018) and furrow-irrigated conditions (Della Lunga et al, 2021c). During the 1-h sampling period, gas samples were collected at 20-min intervals (i.e., 0 min, 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min) using the vented, nonflow-through, chamber method (Parkin and Venterea, 2010;Della Lunga et al, 2021a, 2023a.…”

“…Gas sampling performed during the temporal window between 0800 and 1000 h represents the best time window to estimate daily GHG fluxes in rice production systems under flood- (Rogers et al, 2014;Smartt et al, 2016;Rector et al, 2018) and furrow-irrigated conditions (Della Lunga et al, 2021c). During the 1-h sampling period, gas samples were collected at 20-min intervals (i.e., 0 min, 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min) using the vented, nonflow-through, chamber method (Parkin and Venterea, 2010;Della Lunga et al, 2021a, 2023a. Additional details of the gas sampling procedures have been described previously in Della Lunga et al (2021aLunga et al ( , 2023a.…”

“…During the 1-h sampling period, gas samples were collected at 20-min intervals (i.e., 0 min, 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min) using the vented, nonflow-through, chamber method (Parkin and Venterea, 2010;Della Lunga et al, 2021a, 2023a. Additional details of the gas sampling procedures have been described previously in Della Lunga et al (2021aLunga et al ( , 2023a.…”

“…Along with challenging P management, furrow-irrigated systems can also experience substantial nitrogen (N) losses due to fluctuating soil moisture (Hefner and Tracy, 2013;Della Lunga et al, 2020b, 2023a. To date, there is a lack of research on the overall impact of P and N fertilization on direct and indirect production and release of greenhouse gases (GHGs, Zhang et al, 2019).…”