Tiling Research Project

During the 1990s, southern Iowa producers faced several years of wet growing seasons. Many producers were forced to abandon wet fields in 1992 and 1993 and yields were reduced in 1996, 1998, and 1999 from late planting due to wet soils. Drainage classifications of soils in southern Iowa range from poorly drained to moderately well drained. Most efforts at draining soils have been aimed at surface drainage. Little effort has been made to drain the southern Iowa soils using the subsurface drainage tile common in other areas of the state. Many producers feel that the effects of pattern tiled, subsurface drainage would be short-lived and not effective on southern Iowa’s heavy clay soils. The pattern tile is also expensive. Little research has been conducted on the effects of subsurface drainage on southern Iowa soils using modern plastic tile, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and laser-guided installation. The purpose of this project was to examine the long-term effects of subsurface, pattern tiling on yield, duration, and economics in southern Iowa soils