A project to measure greenhouse gases and water use in furrow-irrigated rice, and the use of cover crops as a remediation tool in land leveling are just two of the presentations that are part of the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center virtual field tour opening Oct. 18.
NERREC is the newest station within the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The fields have seen active research conducted this past growing season, even while the station’s buildings and other infrastructure are still under construction.
The station’s research focuses on the unique soils and other environmental factors in northeast Arkansas.
“This year was our first growing season, and these videos provide Arkansas producers with a great resource to learn about the research activities being conducted at the farm this season,” said Tim Burcham, director of the NERREC. “All four videos in this mini-series virtual field tour serve as a great way for us to introduce scientists from the Division of Agriculture, Arkansas State University and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service that have research here at the station.”
The pre-recorded virtual field tour videos will be available Oct. 18 at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/nerrec-field-day.
What will be covered?
The virtual field tour contains the following presentations:
• Welcome — Tim Burcham, station director, Division of Agriculture.
• Cover crop research on furrow irrigated soybean/rice rotation — Steve Green, professor of soil and water conservation at Arkansas State University.
• Arkansas Rice Performance Trials and Commercial Rice Trials and Variety by Nitrogen trials — Jarrod Hardke, rice agronomist, Cooperative Extension Service.
• Water Use, Yield and Global Warming Potential of Furrow-Irrigated Rice — Arlene Adviento-Borbe, research agronomist, Delta Water Management Unit for the Agricultural Research Service.
• NERREC Irrigation Principles and Practices — Mike Hamilton, irrigation instructor, Cooperative Extension Service.
The University of Arkansas contributed this article.