Nitrogen (N) is at the center of agronomy, climate change, and water quality conversations. Farms are striving to achieve higher yields and quality while reducing emissions and leaching losses by improving their nitrogen use efficiency.
In this article, we will discuss the presence of nitrate in irrigation water and opportunities to budget nitrogen in irrigation, to make farms more efficient in using nitrogen and reduce over-fertilization which in turn will protect groundwater.
Nitrate leaching occurs more easily in Central Wisconsin because of coarse-textured soils and the types of crops commonly grown in Central Wisconsin which generally receive large amounts of nitrogen. Soil nitrate can easily be lost to groundwater particularly after heavy rainfalls.
The fate of N is highly affected by on-farm factors such as cropping system, management practices, soil type and hydrology, as well as external factors such as weather conditions. There are many pathways for N loss from a cropping system including:
