Groundwater is an important water source in North Dakota (ND) since about 62% of the State’s population, with nearly all rural populations depending on groundwater for domestic water supply. Wheat is an extensively grown crop in ND. Approximately 3 million hectares of wheat were harvested in 2020, totaling about 8.5 Mt annually. The current issues for wheat growers in ND and other Midwest states are drought and shallow water tables caused by excess precipitation and poor drainage conditions. Maintaining optimal water table levels through controlled drainage provides the best crop water use and aeration within the plant root zones, as well as limits the accumulation of salts near the soil surface, which improves plant root distribution and crop yield.

Project Objectives

This research is focused on investigating groundwater contribution to spring wheat yield and water use under controlled setting using Lysimeter system. The specific objectives of the research include: (i) to assess the impact of 30, 60, and 90 cm water table depth (WTD) on spring wheat growth, yield, and water use, (ii) to investigate root distribution at different WTDs, and (iii) to determine the impact of different WTDs on the wheat seed quality.

Research Progress

Our research reported results which indicated that the growth and yield of the spring wheat plants were affected by WTDs. Yield and growth parameters, including the plant height, aboveground biomass, the number of kernels, 1000-kernel weight, and average weight per kernel increased as WTD increased from 30 to 90 cm. Similarly, crop water use reduced with increasing WTD, while WUE increased as WTD increased from 30 to 90 cm, resulting in the lowest crop water use and the highest WUE at 90 cm depth. The spring wheat root growth in the lysimeters varied depending on the WTD. Overall, the plant root biomass across all the treatments was found to be higher at the upper zone of the soil profile (0-40 cm depth). The seed quality assessment showed that WTD did not influence the quality of spring wheat grains. This may be due to the fact that the wheat plants were not exposed to water stress and/or fungal diseases, which are some of the main factors known to affect seed quality. Overall, the yield, water use, and root distribution results indicated that among the depths tested in this research, 90 cm was the optimum WTD for the best spring wheat production.

Conference/Seminar Presentation

     Odili F., Bhushan S. and Simsek, H. 2021. Impact of groundwater tables on yield, water use, root distribution, and seed quality of hard red spring wheat (Triticumaestivum L.). 3^rd International Water and Waste Management conference (Virtual). Feb. 24-26, 2021.

     Odili F., Bhushan S. and Simsek, H. 2021. Impact of groundwater tables on yield, water use, root distribution, and seed quality of hard red spring wheat (Triticumaestivum L.). American Chemical Society (ACS), Fall 2021 Conference. Aug 22-26, Atlanta, Georgia.