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Underlying causes of yield spatial variability and potential for precision management in rice systems

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Abstract

Our current understanding of the mechanisms driving spatiotemporal yield variability in rice systems is insufficient for effective management at the sub-field scale. The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of precision management for rice production. The spatiotemporal properties of multiyear yield monitor data from four rice fields, representing varying soil types and locations within the primary rice growing region in California, were quantified and characterized. The role of water management, land-leveling, and the spatial distribution of soil properties in driving yield heterogeneity was explored. Mean yield and coefficient of variation at the sampling points within each field ranged from 9.2 to 12.1 Mg ha−1 and from 7.1 to 14.5 %, respectively. Using a k-means clustering and randomization method, temporally stable yield patterns were identified in three of the four fields. Redistribution of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, potassium and salts by lateral flood water movement was observed across all fields, but was only related to yield variability via exacerbating areas with high soil salinity. The effects of cold water temperature and land-leveling on yield variability were not observed. Soil electrical conductivity and/or plant available phosphorus were identified as the underlying causes of the within-field yield patterns using classification and regression trees. Our results demonstrate that while the high temporal yield variability in some rice fields does not permit precision management, in other fields exhibiting stable yield patterns with identifiable causes, precision management and modified water management may improve the profitability and resource-use efficiency of rice production systems.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science; William G. and Kathleen Golden International Agriculture Fellowship; Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award; D. Marlin Brandon Rice Research Fellowship; and the Ben A. Madson Scholarship. Additionally, the research of J.M. Peña-Barragan was granted by the Fulbright-MEC postdoctoral program, financed by the Secretariat of State for Research of the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation. We thank the cooperating growers, George Tibbitts, Larry Maben and Charley Mathews for allowing us to conduct research on their farms. We are very grateful to the Agroecosystems Lab Manager, Cesar Abrenilla, as well as Kristen Kammeier, Denia Rodriguez Piza, Tim Doane, Ligia Azevedo, Bob Rousseau and numerous members of the Agroecosystems Lab at UC Davis for their assistance in the field and lab.

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  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, 3214 Plant and Environmental Sciences Building, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Maegen B. Simmonds, Richard E. Plant, Chris van Kessel, Jim Hill & Bruce A. Linquist

  2. Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, 14080, Cordoba, Spain

    José M. Peña-Barragán

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  1. Maegen B. Simmonds
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Correspondence to Maegen B. Simmonds.

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Simmonds, M.B., Plant, R.E., Peña-Barragán, J.M. et al. Underlying causes of yield spatial variability and potential for precision management in rice systems. Precision Agric 14, 512–540 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-013-9313-x

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