Results From the 2010 Texas AgriLife Extension Service High Plains and Panhandle Deep Soil Sampling Project

Necessity for soil sampling at greater depths has increased in order to better characterize residual nitrate-nitrogen available for cotton production. This necessity was driven in most part by increased fertilizer costs and possible negative crop maturity issues in some High Plains and Panhandle fields. Previously, soil samples were taken at the 0 to 6 inch depths and could be acquired relatively easily with a shovel or small soil probe. However, soil sampling to depths up to 24 inches generally requires hydraulic powered samplers. With this in mind, a device was designed and fabricated by Texas Agrilife Extension Service personnel at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock. The sampler was utilized in the spring of 2010 by Extension personnel to obtain soil samples from over 110 producer fields across the northern Texas High Plains and Panhandle regions. Soil samples were submitted to the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory for analysis and the results were summarized by production type (irrigated or dryland) and by irrigation system type (Low Energy Precision Application - LEPA, Low Elevation Spray Application - LEPA, Subsurface Drip Irrigated - SDI, or furrow irrigated).