Progress 04/01/05 to 04/30/09
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The primary objective of this Agreement is to conduct research that will document the effect of surfactants, applied to soil directly or in sprinkler irrigation water, on runoff and erosion. A secondary objective is to attempt to identify some of the factors governing soil and water interactions affected by presence of surfactants that contribute to changes in runoff and erosion, either through changes in water storage amount, water storage location or water movement, as well as possible changes in solid phase relationships; these would primarily be through effects of water on soil cohesion, soil strength, soil dispersion and ultimately soil detachment. Approach (from AD-416) 1. Compare and contrast sediment loss (erosion) from sprinkler-applied water +/- surfactants and soil water runoff and infiltration from sprinkler-applied water +/- surfactants. 2. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil water retention properties. 3. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil aggregate stability (and if feasible, strength). 4. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil macro-scale wetting patterns. 5. Evaluate the influence of varying soil textures, mineralogy, chemistry and organic matter content on the performance of surfactants. 6. Evaluate the influence of varying surfactant properties, concentrations and application protocols on the response of soils to water applied to the soil surface using sprinklers. 7. Evaluate the influence of varying water chemistries (pH, SAR, and EC) on the response of soils to water applied to the soil surface using sprinklers. 8. ARS will make oral and poster presentations of results at scientific meetings and will prepare manuscripts for publication in proceedings of scientific meetings and/or for peer reviewed scientific journals, for appropriate aspects of discovery. In all cases presentations and publications will acknowledge this Agreement and the support of the Aquatrols. Documents CRADA. Log 27690. Formerly 5368-12000-005-07T (12/06) . Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations This project documents the effects of wetting agents, or surfactants, on infiltration, runoff, and soil erosion of agricultural soils in the Pacific Northwest. Surfactants are often applied to water-repellent soils. The focus of this project is wettable soils. Three Aquatrols surfactants, IrrigAid Gold�, an ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymer, and an alkyl polyglycoside, along with both tap water and deionized water controls, were applied to three wettable soils. While measured properties differed from soil-to-soil and one irrigation to the next, in all but one case surfactants were not responsible for the measured differences. In that one case, soils treated with the alkyl polyglycoside held 3% more water than untreated soils, potentially allowing more water to be used by plants and potentially increasing the effectiveness of agricultural chemicals applied with water.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The primary objective of this Agreement is to conduct research that will document the effect of surfactants, applied to soil directly or in sprinkler irrigation water, on runoff and erosion. A secondary objective is to attempt to identify some of the factors governing soil and water interactions affected by presence of surfactants that contribute to changes in runoff and erosion, either through changes in water storage amount, water storage location or water movement, as well as possible changes in solid phase relationships; these would primarily be through effects of water on soil cohesion, soil strength, soil dispersion and ultimately soil detachment. Approach (from AD-416) 1. Compare and contrast sediment loss (erosion) from sprinkler-applied water +/- surfactants and soil water runoff and infiltration from sprinkler-applied water +/- surfactants. 2. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil water retention properties. 3. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil aggregate stability (and if feasible, strength). 4. Evaluate surfactant effects on soil macro-scale wetting patterns. 5. Evaluate the influence of varying soil textures, mineralogy, chemistry and organic matter content on the performance of surfactants. 6. Evaluate the influence of varying surfactant properties, concentrations and application protocols on the response of soils to water applied to the soil surface using sprinklers. 7. Evaluate the influence of varying water chemistries (pH, SAR, and EC) on the response of soils to water applied to the soil surface using sprinklers. 8. ARS will make oral and poster presentations of results at scientific meetings and will prepare manuscripts for publication in proceedings of scientific meetings and/or for peer reviewed scientific journals, for appropriate aspects of discovery. In all cases presentations and publications will acknowledge this Agreement and the support of the Aquatrols. Documents CRADA. Log 27690. Formerly 5368-12000-005-07T (12/06) . Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations This report serves to document research conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Aquatrols Corporation (Aquatrols) of Paulsboro, NJ. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project (CRIS 5368-12000-009-00D, Develop and Improve Strategies for Management of Irrigated Crops and Soils). The primary focus of this project is to determine whether surfactants can affect management of non- water repellent soils, possibly aiding infiltration, reducing erosion, increasing water retention, or affecting solid phase properties such as aggregate stability. The Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL) in Kimberly, ID, in cooperation with CRADA partner, Aquatrols, have begun investigating these questions on three soils that cover a range of soil properties and water repellencies. A better understanding of the effects of surfactants on �normal� soils could improve soil and water management and the application and efficacy of a range of co-applied agrichemicals such as herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers. We studied the effects of three surfactants, Aquatrols IrrigAid Gold�, an ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymer, an alkyl polyglycoside, and a tap water control, on the water relations of two wettable soils, a Rad silt loam and a Latahco silt loam and water repellant soil Quincy sand. Large soil tables were used to simulate sprinkler irrigation and measure treatment effects on runoff, infiltration, erosion, bulk density, aggregate stability, surface penetration resistance, water content, and water retention. Compared to the other surfactants, IrrigAid Gold� increased flow through larger pores but decreased flow through pores with diameters less than or equal to 0.5 mm in recently treated, nearly saturated wettable soils, potentially achieving the double benefit of slowing drainage and increasing plant water availability. Additional findings to date are inconclusive but suggest that there may be an interaction of water quality (e.g., salinity) and soil properties (e.g., organic matter content and base saturation), warranting continued research. Communication between researchers and CRADA partners has been robust, including frequent phone calls, e-mails and site visits by the CRADA partner to Kimberly, trips by the ADODR to Pennsylvania and Florida to meet with the CRADA partner, and joint attendance at relevant meetings where research has been presented and further research directions discussed.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
Progress Report 4d Progress report. This report documents research conducted under a trust agreement which reflects a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Aquatrols Corporation of America, Inc., headquartered in Paulsboro, NJ, and Agricultural Research Service, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL), Kimberly, Idaho. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 5368-12000-005-00D, Improving Soil Resource Management for Irrigated Agricultural Systems. In the last two decades soil science had developed increasingly sophisticated and effective strategies for using synthetic soil amendments to modify critical soil properties and processes. Surfactants, often referred to as wetting agents, have been used for decades to improve water infiltration into soils with moderate to severe hydrophobic or water-repellant properties. Water repellence is common in soils following significant forest or
brush fires, or as a result of accumulation and decay of certain natural vegetation, especially on very sandy soils or in turf where duff decays rapidly on the soil surface without formation of a distinct A horizon. Overcoming infiltration restriction in these soils has, until recently, been the primary and nearly sole focus of surfactant use. As understanding of the chemical and physical processes affecting water entry into soil has improved, it has become clear that surfactants may have a role to play in managing other soil processes not previously associated with manipulation of soil wet-ability. The objective of this project is to quantify the changes in soil water retention, soil aggregate stability, soil strength and soil erosion attributes that result from treatment of soil with surfactants. A new class of highly potent surfactant materials will be evaluated, assessing the effects on two common production soils of the Pacific Northwest. Application rate and method will also
be assessed. The work will utilize the meso-scale soil tables and irrigation simulator at the NWISRL. ARS and Aquatrols scientists met in Spring of 2005 to cooperatively plan the research approach and to select the specific surfactants and rates to be employed. A review of the literature for related work has been initiated. Two agriculturally important soils of the Pacific Northwest were collected for use in the studies. The first complete series of sprinkler simulation tests on the Portneuf/Rad soil, packed in meso-scale erosion tables, was completed, looking at 5 gallon per acre of combination product as the reference application rate. The tests compared runoff infiltration and erosion from controls, from the combined commercial product and from the two proportional components that make up the commercial product. Following irrigation and re-irrigation after a drying period, soil samples were collected to determine shallow bulk density and aggregate stability. Saturated and
unsaturated infiltration rates were also measured and water release curves are being run. Initial findings suggest that although infiltration in this relatively unstructured, low organic content soil, the absence of significant structural components above 1mm in size limited other observable effects of the surfactants. A second series of tests on a soil with four times the organic content and which is highly aggregated is expected to provide significant contrasts to the more mineral soil. The findings of these studies are expected to point the way toward a potential new strategy for optimizing water retention and infiltration in production soils while determining the impact of surfactants on erosion processes and structural stability. This CRADA agreement was finalized in late Spring of 2005 and covers a three year period. Application of these findings may aid in soil conservation from highly erosive soils and improved production where crops could benefit from increased water
infiltration and retention, and a reduction in soil strength.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
4d Progress report. This report documents research conducted under a CRADA between Aquatrols Corporation of America, Inc., headquartered in Paulsboro, NJ, and Agricultural Research Service. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 5368-12000-005-00D, Improving Soil Resource Management for Irrigated Agricultural Systems. This project involves cooperative research between Stanley J. Kostka and John Zupancic of Aquatrols Corporation of America, Inc. and Robert E. Sojka and Gary A. Lehrsch at the ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL) in Kimberly, ID. In the last two decades soil science had developed increasingly sophisticated and effective strategies for using synthetic soil amendments to modify critical soil properties and processes. Surfactants, often referred to as wetting agents, have been used for decades to improve water infiltration into soils with moderate to sever hydrophobic or water-repellant
properties. Water repellence is common in soils following significant forest or brush fires, or as a result of accumulation and decay of certain natural vegetation, especially on very sandy soils or in turf where duff decays rapidly on the soil surface without formation of a distinct A horizon. Overcoming infiltration restriction in these soils has until recently been the primary and nearly sole focus of surfactant use. As understanding of the chemical and physical processes affecting water entry into soil has improved, it has become clear that surfactants may have a role to play in managing other soil processes not previously associated with manipulation of soil wet- ability. The objective of this project is to quantify the changes in soil water retention, soil aggregate stability, soil strength and soil erosion attributes that result from treatment of soil with surfactants. A new class of highly potent surfactant materials will be evaluated, assessing the effects on two common
production soils of the Pacific Northwest. Application rate and method will also be assessed. The work will utilize the meso-scale soil tables and irrigation simulator at the NWISRL in Kimberly, ID. ARS and Aquatrols scientists met in Spring of 2005 to cooperatively plan the research approach and to select the specific surfactants and rates to be employed. A review of the literature for related work has been initiated. Two agriculturally important soils of the Pacific Northwest were collected fore use in the studies. Meso-scale erosion tables have been packed with soil in preparation for the initial run. A new sensitive load cell was purchased to aid in weighing the soil boxes for determination of infiltration and water content changes. Analytical equipment is being purchased to facilitate the aggregate stability and soil strength work. The findings of these studies are expected to point the way toward a potential new strategy for optimizing water retention and infiltration in
production soils while determining the impact of surfactants on erosion processes and structural stability. This CRADA agreement was finalized in late Spring of 2005 and covers a three year period. Application of these findings may aid in soil conservation from highly erosive soils and improved production where crops could benefit from increased water infiltration and retention, and a reduction in soil strength.
Impacts
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