Alternate wetting and drying irrigation and selected hybrid rice maintain high grain yield and further reduce soil trace gas fluxes in Arkansas

Authors: Adviento-Borbe, Arlene; Massey, Joseph; OTTIS, B. - Rice Tec, Inc; ANDERS, M. - Net-Profit Crop Consultancy

Submitted to: Environmental Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/8/2026
Publication Date: 2/12/2026
Citation: Adviento-Borbe, A.A., Massey, J., Ottis, B., Anders, M. 2026. Alternate wetting and drying irrigation and selected hybrid rice maintain high grain yield and further reduce soil trace gas fluxes in Arkansas. Environmental Management. 401:128962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.128962.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.128962

Interpretive Summary: Non-continuous flooding management such as alternate wetting and drying (AWD), furrow, upland rice directly influenced grain production and N losses through soil trace gas fluxes in drill seeded rice system. The use of high yielding hybrid cultivars may offset the yield penalty under AWD irrigation but its impacts on N and C loses are unclear. Field study was conducted to assess the multiple benefits of AWD and hybrid rice selection on grain yields and soil N and C losses. Results showed that grain yields were not affected by AWD irrigation and grain yields were 13% higher in hybrids than inbred cultivar. Methane fluxes and global warming potentials of methane and nitrous oxide fluxes were largely reduced (71%) under AWD irrigation and greatest reduction occurred in some hybrids (CLXL745) compared to reductions in conventional flooded rice. Losses of N fertilizer during dry cycles through gaseous N fluxes were not affected by cultivars and irrigation practices because fertilizer N rates were sufficient to rice crop. Findings of this study are relevant to rice breeders, rice agronomists, plant scientists and private/public organizations in developing and recommending crop management strategies to maintain higher rice production in drill seeded rice.

Technical Abstract: Alternate wetting & drying rice irrigation (AWD) combined with high-yielding cultivars in drill-rice seeding can sustain grain yield and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A three-year field study was conducted to assess the impacts of hybrid cultivar and AWD practice on grain yield and GHG emissions in irrigated rice. Main plots were continuously flooded (FLOODED), and AWD treatments and sub-plots were CL151, CLXL745, XP753, XP760 treatments. Grain yields were similar between FLOODED and AWD treatments and varied among cultivars with lowest grain yield in CL151. AWD reduced total CH4 emissions by approximately 71% relative to FLOODED fields with greatest reduction in CLXL745 (20%). In contrast, total N2O emissions were not affected by cultivar, averaging 0.19 kg N2O-N ha'' 1season'' 1. Total seasonal global warming potentials (GWP) were mainly influenced by CH4 emissions and greatly reduced under AWD irrigation. These results show that coupling AWD with suitable rice hybrid has the potential to achieve both higher GHG emission reductions and stable grain yields.