Browsing by Author "Elliott, J.A."
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Item Leaching of nitrates and herbicides under low pressure (high volume) irrigation(1992-02-20) Elliott, J.A.; Best, K.B.; Nicholaichuk, W.; Cessna, A.J.; Grover, R.; Toleffson, L.C.The potential for contamination of groundwater by nitrates or pesticides from irrigated soils has not been fully evaluated. This project was initiated to monitor nitrate and herbicide leaching in a tile-drained field at SIDC in Outlook. Water samples were collected using suction lysimeters and analyzed for nitrate and four herbicides (2, 4-D, dicamba, bromoxynil and diclofop). The concentrations of nitrates at depth were maintained by the downward movement of applied andmineralized N. Trace amounts of 2, 4-D and diclofop were leached to 180 cm but bromoxynil and dicamba were not found below 60 cm depth. Dicamba and diclofop persisted longer in the soil than 2, 4-D or bromoxynil but were only present in trace amounts at the end of August.Item Monitoring water and salt movement during a leaching irrigation using time domain reflectometry(1993-02-25) Elliott, J.A.; Best, K.B.; Nicholaichuk, W.; Tollefson, L.C.; Cessna, A.J.Time domain reflectometry (TDR) has become an accepted method of measuring soil water content. Laboratory results have indicated that it may also be possible to measure soil electrical conductivity (EC) using TDR. The objectives of this experiment were to investigate the utility of TDR as a field measurement of EC and to illustrate a potential application of the technique. Field research was conducted at the Saskatchewan Irrigation Development Centre on a field which has been reclaimed from salinity over the past 10 years by the installation of tile drains and a fall leaching program. To test the accuracy of bulk soil EC measurements made by TDR (ECr), EC was also measured on water samples from suction lysimeters which sampled at the same depths as the TDR waveguides and converted to a bulk soil basis (EC8). Comparisons between ECT and EC8 were made three times during the 1992 growing season (when the soil was relatively dry) and four times during the fall leaching period (when the soil was much wetter). ECr was significantly correlated (p<0.001) to EC8. However, the measurement of ECT was affected by soil moisture content and an empirical function had to be used to eliminate this source of variability. Good agreement (R2=0.93) was obtained between ECT and EC8 when this function was applied. During the leaching irrigation, water and salt movement was monitored by TDR. At most sites, a salt bulge could be clearly identified moving downward through the profile as the volume of water applied increased. With further investigation into the relationship between ECT and water content, the rapid simultaneous measurement of water content and electrical conductivity made possible by TDR should prove useful in studies of salt movement.Item Quantifying denitrification on a field-scale in hummocky terrain(1989-02-16) Elliott, J.A.; de Jong, E.Down-slope and cross-slope curvature and elevation were used to identify nine landscape elements for a slough-focused basin in hummocky terrain near Hafford, Saskatchewan. Denitrification was measured at monthly intervals from April to October in 1986, 1987, and 1988. The measured values were interpolated to daily values using a simple soil moisture budget and a regression model relating denitrification to moisture content and air temperature. The model predicted denitrification well except in 1987, the fallow year, when the denitrification flush due to substrate availability was underestimated. Annual denitrification was higher in 1987 than in either 1986 or 1988 when wheat and canola, respectively, were grown. Low-lying and convergent elements had greater denitrification than diverging elements or those higher in the landscape. The relative abundance of the landscape elements was used to extend the denitrification predicted for the landscape elements to the whole field.Item Soil and yield variability in a rolling landscape(1991-02-21) Elliott, J.A.; Cowell, L.E.; de Jong, E.