NDSU Tile Drainage Bus Tour Scheduled for June 16

North Dakota State University, in cooperation with the North Dakota Water Education Foundation, will hold a tile drainage tour of the Red River Valley on Tuesday, June 16.

The bus for the tour will load at 8:30 a.m. in the west lot of the Fargodome.

The first stop on the tour is a tile drainage demonstration site near Embden. Ron Wiederholt, NDSU nutrient management specialist, will discuss the impact of tile drainage on water quality using equipment capable of measuring the quantity and quality of discharge water in an established tile drainage system.

During the bus tour, speakers will provide an overview of Sheyenne and Red River flooding this spring. Also discussed will be proposed options for future flood prevention, which includes a review of the proposed Red River Valley waffle project.

Lunch will be served at the Wahpeton park, but refreshments will be available all along the route.

From Wahpeton, the tour will proceed to the Fairmount area to view a research and demonstration site of a field that is half tiled and half nontiled. Thomas Scherer, NDSU agricultural engineer, will lead the discussion. Participants will be able to see how water level and soil moisture monitoring equipment is used. An additional feature is that part of this field has the capability of being subirrigated through the drainage system.

Next on the tour is a look at a tile drainage system construction site. The mechanics of tile drainage will be featured and installation costs discussed.

The final stop on the tour is the newly established tile drainage research project on the NDSU campus. Hans Kandel, NDSU Extension agronomist, will review project goals and discuss preliminary results. Several major crops are being studied under tiled and nontiled conditions. Equipment is in place to monitor the water table, soil properties and temperatures. Yield responses, disease incidence and various growth characteristics are measured in both tiled and nontiled environments.

The tour will conclude at approximately 5 p.m. at the Fargodome.

Preregistration is required. The tour registration is $15, which includes lunch and all refreshments. The North Dakota Water Education Foundation is handling registration. To register or for more information, write to NDWEF, P.O. Box 2254, Bismarck, ND, 58502 or call (701) 223-8332.

Mike Liane, NDSU irrigation specialist, also can be contacted for more information at (701) 351-0726.
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