Water and Nitrogen Management Practices in the Central Platte Valley of Nebraska

Contamination of groundwater by nitrogen leached from fertilizer on irrigated soils is related to the quantity of nitrate present, the leaching potential based on soil texture and percent depletion of available soil water in the root zone, and the amount of water entering the soil profile. Scheduling irrigation according to available soil water depletion can reduce deep percolation to a certain extent. Grain yields are not appreciably affected by the use of these management practices, while in most cases input costs for fertilizer nitrogen and irrigation water are reduced.