Why is an article with this content posted here, you ask?

Simple.  Any crop that is irrigated with water from the Delta alluvial aquifer affects the long-term sustainability of continued irrigation of all Mississippi Delta crops.

So, conservation of water applied to the two crops in the title is good news for soybean growers, and vice versa, since most of the water used to irrigate corn and rice is pulled from the aquifer.  Also, most rice and corn producers are also soybean producers, and most likely rotate rice and corn with soybeans.

For furrow-irrigated corn, the water conservation tool that can be adopted to save water is PHAUCET, the same as for soybeans.  This program is described in links in a previous article on this website.  Since this water-saving tool is used in a like manner for both corn and soybeans, it goes without saying that it will be invaluable where corn and soybeans are rotated and irrigated.

For rice, several tools are available that can be adopted to reduce the amount of water applied during the season.

Side- or Multiple-inlet Irrigation.  This process and its setup are described and shown in excellent fashion in an MSU video.  It is also described in MCES Publication 2338.  Testimonies about its use can be found in Delta Farm Press articles published in 2002 and 2003.  It is touted as a water-saving way of applying water to rice fields in the above venues and in a University of Arkansas Extension Service article.

Zero-grade Slope.  Incorporating this tool requires a large capital investment for land-forming.

Intermittent Rice Irrigation.  This work is summarized in an article published by the MSU Office of Ag. Communications.

Dr. Joe Massey of MSU Dept. of Plant and Soil Sciences provided me with two other excellent documents (slide presentations) that pertain to supplying water to rice and rice and soybeans grown in rotation.  They are:

Water and Energy Conservation Practices for Mississippi Rice Production.

Water-Conserving Irrigation Systems for Furrow Irrigated Soybean and Rice Grown in the Mississippi Delta.

If you are not already using one or more of the above water-conserving tactics in your irrigation of rice and/or corn, I encourage you to read the information in the provided links.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, July 2013, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net