Floridan Aquifer Collaborative Engagement for Sustainability (FACETS) - Field trial data from University of Georgia Stripling Irrigation Research Park (SIRP)

Research was conducted at the University of Georgia’s Stripling Irrigation Research Park (SIRP) located near Camilla, Georgia in a 4 ha research field known as the Newton Lateral (31°16'46.24"N, 84°17'59.59"W). The field is divided into three blocks (North, Middle, South) with each block containing 27 plots. The plots were each 14.5 × 14. 5 m (48 × 48 ft or 48 ft long × 16 rows wide). The eight middle rows in each plot were used for data collection and the four rows on either side of the middle eight served as buffers. The soil in the Newton Lateral field is classified as a Lucy Loamy Sand with available water holding capacity of 0. 08 cm/cm with 0 to 5% slope. Soil texture varies slightly across the field with 83% Sand, 10% Silt and 7% Clay in the South block to 86% Sand, 8% Silt, and 6% Clay in the North block. The field is irrigated with a variable rate enabled lateral irrigation system which can apply a unique water application rate to each of the 81 plots. A portable liquid fertilizer injection system allows for application of unique fertilizer application rate to each of the 81 plots through the irrigation system (fertigation). The experimental design utilized a randomized complete block design. The 27 plots in each block were divided into nine treatments with three replicates each. A cotton-peanut-corn rotation was maintained with crops rotating from north to south each year. All crops were planted into a rye cover crop using strip tillage following burndown with glyphosate. Three irrigation × three fertilization treatments were evaluated in the corn and cotton plots. Since N fertilizer is not applied to peanut during the growing season, nine irrigation treatments were evaluated in peanut. During each growing season, soil moisture was monitored continuously in each plot using matric potential type soil moisture sensors in all crops. Soil nitrogen and rye cover crop biomass was measured prior to burndown. Soil nitrogen and crop biomass was measured at regular intervals during the growing season with the final sample being collected just prior to harvest. Biomass included dry weight of separate plant tissues as well as Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) and yield. Soil samples were collected to 0.9 m in 4 increments and analyzed for Nitrate, Ammonium, and TKN.

• Resource Title: FACETS BMP Field Trial Data from Stripling Irrigation Research Park, Georgia.

  File Name: FACETS BMP field trial data from SIRP_GA.zip

  Resource Description: A three-year cotton-peanut-corn rotation was used to evaluate management practices that could lead to improved water and N use efficiencies. All three crops were planted into a rye cover crop using strip tillage. Fertigation, the application of liquid fertilizers through the irrigation system, was evaluated on corn and cotton. Various irrigation scheduling methods including soil moisture sensors (SMS) and smartphone apps were compared to the traditional calendar scheduling method. Data includes: Soil Texture, Soil Nutrients, Soil Profile, Gravimetric Soil Moisture, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Tissue Analysis, and Yield, presented as zipped Excel (.xlsx) tables.