Title: Furrow Irrigation Management with Limited Water
Abstract: Dwindling water supplies in the Great Plains are a major concern to the economics of the region. Water
management studies on limited irrigation usually focus attention on sprinkler irrigation for the delivery system. Furrow
irrigation has more management factors that can influence water application including water advance and water distribution
over the furrow length. This study compared water application strategies to reduce the amount of water delivered to corn
during the vegetative and late grain fill growth periods from 1998 to 2000. In addition to a “full irrigation” and “late initiation
of irrigation” treatment, two water allocation treatments were imposed, which limited seasonal water applications to 150 and
250 mm, respectively and “rainfed” treatment. Average grain yield over three years for “late” treatment was 0.2 Mg ha-1 or
2% less than that of “full” treatment. Yields for the 150- and 250-mm treatments were 1.1 and 0.4 Mg ha-1 less than “full.”
The reduction in gross water applied was 21%, 36%, and 51% for “late,” 250 mm, and 150 mm as compared to “full”. Soil
water was measured to a depth of 1.8 m at quarter points along the furrow to evaluate the distribution of the irrigation. Soil
water profiles tended to dry slightly during the season, but there was no statistical difference among the limited and full
irrigation treatments. Best management cropping practices were applied, including ridge tillage/planting, furrow packing,
irrigation scheduling, and surge irrigation techniques to keep water in the soil profile and target water applications to critical
crop growth stages.. These practices maximized the potential success of all irrigation treatments.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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