WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—More of the fertilizers and pesticides used to grow corn may be found in nearby water sources if ethanol demands lead to planting more acres in corn, according to a Purdue University study.
The study of Indiana water sources found that those near fields that practice continuous-corn rotations had higher levels of nitrogen, fungicides and phosphorous than corn-soybean rotations.
"When you move from corn-soybean rotations to continuous corn, the sediment losses will be much greater," said one researcher. "Increased sediment losses allow more fungicide and phosphorous to get into the water because they move with sediment."
Nitrogen and fungicides are more heavily used in corn crops than soybeans, increasing the amounts found in the soil of continuous-corn fields. Sediment losses become more prevalent because tilling is often required in continuous-corn fields, whereas corn-soybean rotations can more easily be no-till fields.
