SOIL HEALTH ASSESSMENT IN IRRIGATED, ROW-CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN THE MIDSOUTHERN US

The overall goal of this research is to better understand how soil conservation and nutrient management practices affect soil health indices and crop yield in the Midsouthern US irrigated, row-crop production systems. Specifically, we aim:i) to identify chemical, physical, and/or biological soil health indices that are sensitive to short- and long-term agronomic practices in irrigated row-crop production systems;ii) to investigate if greater soil health ratings are related to increased crop yield;iii) to evaluate the use of the Nitrogen Soil Test for Rice (N-STaR) as a soil health index;iv) to assess the impact of long-term fertilizer-P and -K rates application on crop yield and soil health;v) to evaluate how soil tillage practices affect soil C sequestration and soil health in irrigated, row-crop production systems;vi) to investigate the contribution of different cover crop species in improving soil health and soil C sequestration;vii) to demonstrate that soil conservation practices adopted in Arkansas Discovery Farms are improving soil health and C sequestration, as there is growing interest in the agricultural industry regarding soil health and its relationship to the production system resiliency.