OPEN ACCESS
doi:
- Benoit A. Delbecq *a,
- Jason P. Brownb,
- Raymond J. G. M. Floraxc,
- Eileen J. Kladivkod,
- Adela P. Nistore and
- Jess M. Lowenberg-DeBoerf
- a Market and Trade Economics Division, USDA Economic Research Service, 355 E St. SW, Washington, DC 20024
b Resource and Rural Economics Division, USDA Economic Research Service, 355 E St. SW, Washington, DC 20024
c Dep. of Agricultural Economics, Purdue Univ., 403 West State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2056, and Dep. of Spatial Economics, VU Univ. Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
d Dep. of Agronomy, Purdue Univ., 915 West State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054
e Tutorheight, 5789 Glen Erin Dr., Mississauga, ON, Canada L5M 5J9
f Dep. of Agricultural Economics, Purdue Univ., 615 West State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-1168. The views expressed here are those of the authors and may not be attributed to the Economic Research Service or the USDA
Abstract
Controlled drainage (drainage water management) restricts outflow during periods of the year when equipment operations are not required in the field. This may increase yields as well as reduce the loss of nutrients with negative environmental externalities. An experiment using controlled drainage was investigated and its impact on corn (Zea mays L.) yields was assessed at the field level in Indiana. Specifically, yield monitor data was analyzed across space and time using a geographic information system and spatial panel regression methods. The use of panel data methods controlling simultaneously for spatial and temporal heterogeneity as well as dependence provides precision agriculture researchers with a powerful framework to model crop sensor data across space and time. During the period 2005 to 2009, controlled drainage was found to outperform free-flow systems by an average of 0.57 to 1.00 Mg ha−1 (5.8–9.8% across the effective range of 0–0.61 m above the water control structure) for the experimental field; however, these aggregate results masked substantial year-to-year and within-field variations.
Please view the pdf by using the Full Text (PDF) link under 'View' to the left.Copyright © 2012. . Copyright © 2012 by the American Society of Agronomy, Inc.
