Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID MT_2024_Robinson

Assessing Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Irrigated Fields

Institute: Montana
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $2,500 Total Non-Federal Funds: $1,125

Principal Investigators: Megan Robinson

Project Summary: Water is the most commonly limiting resource for food production in semi-arid climates. Following water, nitrogen is often the second most limiting resource in the northern Great Plains and may be most limiting in irrigated systems. The management of soil moisture will be critical to ensure sufficient water availability for crops while minimizing losses of water and soluble nutrients like nitrate from soils. Water management has been identified as an optimal strategy for improving nitrogen use efficiency in irrigated systems, because the reduction in nitrate leaching risk from more precise water management does not come at the expense of crop yields, like reduced fertilizer applications might. This research is centered in science and Extension goals surrounding the question: can the integration of soil moisture data into irrigation decision making reduce deep percolation and nitrate leaching, and improve water and nitrogen use efficiency in irrigated agriculture?