Water management strategies and their effects on rice grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency

Midsouthern US producers are reluctant to adopt alternate rice (Oryza sativa L.) irrigation techniques that could reduce groundwater withdrawal due to perceived reduction in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and rice grain yield. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of four rice irrigation techniques (continuous flood, straighthead irrigation, alternate wet/dry, and aerobic) on maturity, mature plant height, NUE, and rice grain yield for six cultivars commonly grown in Louisiana and Mississippi. This experiment was conducted in 2013 and 2014 at Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter in Crowley, Louisiana, on a Crowley silt loam (fine, smectitic, thermic Typic Albaqualfs) and at Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, Mississippi, on a Sharkey clay (veryfine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Epiaquerts). Nitrogen use efficiency and rice grain yield for rice grown in an aerobic environment was reduced at least 20% compared to continuous flood, straighthead-drain management, and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation. Straighthead irrigation and AWD performed similar to the continuously flooded production system for NUE and rice grain yield. These data indicate that when properly managed use of an alternate irrigation strategy, such as AWD irrigation, does not reduce NUE, plant height, or grain yield compared to a continuously flooded system.

[1]  F. Ponnamperuma.  The Chemistry of Submerged Soils , 1972 .

[2]  W. H. Patrick,et al.  Effect of alternate aerobic and anaerobic conditions on redox potential, organic matter decomposition and nitrogen loss in a flooded soil , 1975 .

[3]  K. Sahrawat,et al.  Nitrogen transformations in flooded rice soils , 1986 .

[4]  G. Snyder,et al.  Seeding rate and row spacing effects on yield and yield components of drill-seeded rice , 1987 .

[5]  S. G. Carmer,et al.  Least significant differences for combined analyses of experiments with two- or three-factor treatment designs , 1989 .

[6]  S. Fukai,et al.  Improving efficiency of water use for irrigated rice in a semi-arid tropical environment , 1997 .

[7]  A. Saxton.  A Macro for Converting Mean Separation Output to Letter Groupings in PROC MIXED , 1998 .

[8]  M. Cox.  THE LANCASTER SOIL TEST METHOD AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE MEHLICH 3 SOIL TEST METHOD1 , 2001 .

[9]  B. Bouman,et al.  Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice , 2001 .

[10]  R. Sakthivadivel,et al.  Alternate wet/dry irrigation in rice cultivation: a practical way to save water and control malaria and Japanese encephalitis? , 2001 .

[11]  B. Bouman,et al.  Impact of alternate wetting and drying irrigation on rice growth and resource-use efficiency , 2001 .

[12]  Z. Wang,et al.  Yield of aerobic rice (Han Dao) under different water regimes in north China. , 2002 .

[13]  A. Dobermann,et al.  Agroecosystems, Nitrogen-use Efficiency, and Nitrogen Management , 2002, Ambio.

[14]  E. Vories,et al.  Comparison of flooded and furrow-irrigated rice on clay , 2002, Irrigation Science.

[15]  B. Bouman,et al.  The potential of aerobic rice to reduce water use in water-scarce irrigated lowlands in the tropics. , 2002 .

[16]  B. Bouman,et al.  On-farm strategies for reducing water input in irrigated rice; case studies in the Philippines , 2002 .

[17]  E. Gbur,et al.  Seeding Date Effect on Rice Grain Yields in Arkansas and Louisiana , 2003 .

[18]  Bas A. M. Bouman,et al.  ADOPTION OF WATER SAVING TECHNOLOGIES IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINES 1 , 2003 .

[19]  B. Bouman,et al.  Effect of water-saving irrigation on rice yield and water use in typical lowland conditions in Asia , 2004 .

[20]  A. Sepaskhah,et al.  Deficit irrigation and nitrogen effects on nitrogen-use efficiency and grain protein of rice , 2004 .

[21]  A. T. Lactaoen,et al.  Farmer adoption of controlled irrigation in rice: a case study in Canarem, Victoria, Tarlac. , 2004 .

[22]  J. Six,et al.  Efficiency of Fertilizer Nitrogen in Cereal Production: Retrospects and Prospects , 2005 .

[23]  E. D. Vories,et al.  Multiple inlet approach to reduce water requirements for rice production , 2005 .

[24]  B. Bouman,et al.  Yield and water use of irrigated tropical aerobic rice systems , 2005 .

[25]  E. D. Vories,et al.  Water use estimates for various rice production systems in Mississippi and Arkansas , 2006, Irrigation Science.

[26]  D. Groth,et al.  Registration of ‘Cheniere’ Rice , 2006 .

[27]  T. Loughin.  SAS® for Mixed Models, 2nd edition Edited by Littell, R. C., Milliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., Wolfinger, R. D., and Schabenberger, O. , 2006 .

[28]  David R. Lee,et al.  Spatial Price Integration in U.S. and Mexican Rice Markets , 2006 .

[29]  D. Groth,et al.  Registration of ‘Jupiter’ Rice , 2006 .

[30]  B. Watkins,et al.  Evaluating the Economic Benefits and Costs of Zero-Grade Rice , 2007 .

[31]  S. Haefele,et al.  Nitrogen use efficiency in selected rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes under different water regimes and nitrogen levels , 2008 .

[32]  J. Bond,et al.  Hybrid Rice Response to Nitrogen Fertilization for Midsouthern United States Rice Production , 2008 .

[33]  Y. Kato,et al.  Yield potential and water use efficiency of aerobic rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Japan , 2009 .

[34]  Y. Kato,et al.  Radiation use efficiency, N accumulation and biomass production of high-yielding rice in aerobic culture. , 2010 .

[35]  E. Vories,et al.  INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL FOR RICE PRODUCTION WITH SPRINKLER IRRIGATION , 2010 .

[36]  E. Webster,et al.  On the Analysis of Combined Experiments , 2011, Weed Technology.

[37]  C. Kessel,et al.  Rice field drainage affects nitrogen dynamics and management , 2011 .

[38]  D. Groth,et al.  Registration of ‘CL151’ Rice , 2011 .

[39]  M. Farooq,et al.  Plant drought stress: effects, mechanisms and management , 2011, Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

[40]  Y. Kato,et al.  Role of early vigor in adaptation of rice to water-saving aerobic culture: Effects of nitrogen utilization and leaf growth , 2011 .

[41]  B. Bouman,et al.  Impact of the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) water-saving irrigation technique: Evidence from rice producers in the Philippines , 2011 .

[42]  T. Tuong,et al.  Chlorophyll meter-based nitrogen management of rice grown under alternate wetting and drying irrigation , 2011 .

[43]  E. Vories,et al.  Experimentation on Cultivation of Rice Irrigated with a Center Pivot System , 2012 .

[44]  J. Bond,et al.  Effect of Postflood Quinclorac Applications on Commercial Rice Cultivars , 2012, Weed Technology.

[45]  D. Johnson,et al.  Responding to changing climate in unfavorable rice environments 4 May 2010 , Siem Reap , Cambodia , 2012 .

[46]  Yongjian Sun,et al.  The effects of different water and nitrogen managements on yield and nitrogen use efficiency in hybrid rice of China , 2012 .

[47]  Earl D. Vories,et al.  Rice Production with Center Pivot Irrigation , 2013 .

[48]  R. Rejesus,et al.  Enhancing the impact of natural resource management research: Lessons from a meta-impact assessment of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium , 2014 .

[49]  H. Rashid.  Groundwater Flow Model, Optimal Management Model, and Advective Transport Model for the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer in Cache Critical Groundwater Area, Arkansas , 2014 .

[50]  M. Smith,et al.  Farmer adaptation of intermittent flooding using multiple-inlet rice irrigation in Mississippi , 2014 .

[51]  J. Gore,et al.  Nitrification and Yield for Delayed-Flood Rice as Affected by a Nitrification Inhibitor and Coated Urea , 2014 .

[52]  L. Nalley,et al.  The Economic Viability of Alternative Wet Dry (AWD) Irrigation in Rice Production in the Mid-South , 2014 .

[53]  B. Bouman,et al.  Effects of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) threshold level and plant seedling age on crop performance, water input, and water productivity of transplanted rice in Central Luzon, Philippines , 2015, Paddy and Water Environment.

[54]  D. She,et al.  Effects of controlled irrigation and drainage on growth, grain yield and water use in paddy rice , 2014 .

[55]  B. Bouman,et al.  Adoption and economics of alternate wetting and drying water management for irrigated lowland rice. , 2015 .

[56]  C. Kessel,et al.  Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and grain arsenic levels in rice systems , 2015, Global change biology.

[57]  J. Massey,et al.  Rice Water Use Efficiency and Yield under Continuous and Intermittent Irrigation , 2015 .

[58]  Mitigating a Commons Dilemma: Agricultural Water Use in the Mississippi Delta , 2017 .

[59]  R. Wolfinger,et al.  SAS for Mixed Models , 2018 .