PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J.D. Williams
AU  - C. Reardon
AU  - S.B. Wuest
AU  - D.S. Long
TI  - Soil water infiltration after oilseed crop introduction into a Pacific Northwest winter wheat–fallow rotation
AID  - 10.2489/jswc.2020.00165
DP  - 2020 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
PG  - 739--745
VI  - 75
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jswconline.org/content/75/6/739.short
4100  - http://www.jswconline.org/content/75/6/739.full
AB  - Rapid water infiltration is important for improving water storage and reducing erosion potential in arid and semiarid areas. Taprooted crops are sometimes credited with improving water infiltration. In a study repeated over three years, we tested whether adding a single brassica crop year to the traditional wheat (Triticum aestivum)–summer fallow rotation would improve water infiltration. We found significantly faster rates of ponded water infiltration in subsequent wheat crops following canola (Brassica napus; 29.68 ± 19.83 mm h–1 [1.17± 0.78 in hr–1], n = 24) and mustard (Brassica carinata; 25.27 ± 17.32 mm h–1 [0.99 ± 0.68 in hr–1], n = 19) as compared to wheat following winter wheat (21.14 ± 15.78 mm h–1 [0.83 ± 0.62 in hr–1], n = 24). The greater infiltration rates measured following brassicas compared to wheat were not attributed to root channels due to the lack of visible channels. Crop diversification with oilseeds can increase water infiltration after only a single crop year.