Thus far we have talked quite a bit about our subirrigated corn fields, but we also have two soybean fields (one that is subsurface drained and one that is undrained) which have provided some interesting comparisons between drained and undrained fields.
Some key points to note about the two soybean fields are:
- Similar soil series amongst two fields
- Same preceding crop (corn)
- Same variety of soybean is grown in both fields
- Relatively same location (two fields are about 1/2 mile apart)
Even though we are still in the process of collecting/analyzing data we can still
visually see differences between the subsurface drained and undrained fields. Below are pictures of the undrained and subsurface drained fields.
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| Undrained soybean field. Water logged soils at the beginning of the growing season may have been a contributor to the stunted growth/development of the crop |
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Subsurface drained soybean field.
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A person can easily see, from the photos, that the subsurface drained crop (bottom photo) is much taller/fuller than the undrained crop (top photo). Hence, supporting the use of subsurface drainage in the Red River Valley.
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