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Water requirement of subsurface drip-irrigated corn in northwest
Kansas
Lamm, FR | Manges, HL | Stone, LR | Khan, AH | Rogers, DH
Transactions of the ASAE [TRANS. ASAE]. Vol. 38, no. 2, pp.
441-448. 1995.
Irrigation development during the last 50 years has led to
overdraft in many areas of the large Ogallala aquifer in the
central United States. Faced with the decline in irrigated acres,
irrigators and water resource personnel are examining many new
techniques to conserve this valuable resource. A three-year study
(1989 to 1991) was conducted on a Keith silt loam soil (Aridic
Argiustoll) in northwest Kansas to determine the water requirement
of corn (Zea mays L.) grown using a subsurface drip irrigation
(SDI) system. A dryland control and five irrigation treatments,
designed to meet from 25 to 125% of calculated evapotranspiration
(ET) needs of the crop were examined. Although cumulative
evapotranspiration and precipitation were near normal for the
three growing seasons, irrigation requirements were higher than
normal due to the timing of precipitation and high
evapotranspiration periods. Analysis of the seasonal progression
of soil water revealed the well-watered treatments (75 to 125% of
ET treatments) maintained stable soil water levels above
approximately 55 to 60% of field capacity for the 2.4-m soil
profile, while the deficit-irrigated treatments (no irrigation to
50% of ET treatments) mined the soil water. Corn yields were
highly linearly related to calculated crop water use, producing
0.048 Mg/ha of grain for each millimeter of water used above a
threshold of 328 mm. Analysis of the calculated water balance
components indicated that careful management of SDI systems can
reduce net irrigation needs by nearly 25%, while still maintaining
top yields of 12.5 Mg/ha. Most of these water savings can be
attributable to minimizing nonbeneficial water balance components
such as soil evaporation and long-term drainage. The SDI system is
one technology that can make significant improvements in water use
efficiency by better managing the water balance components.
 Descriptors: Article Subject Terms agriculture | corn | drip irrigation | evapotranspiration | irrigation water | subsurface irrigation | water
conservation | water requirements | water use efficiency
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