Corn Nutritional Properties and Yields with Surface Drip Irrigation in Topographically Variable Fields
2007
Zhu, H. | Lan, Y. | Lamb, M.C. | Butts, C.L.
Development of a method to effectively irrigate row crops that requires less capital investment than current methods will improve the economic feasibility of irrigation. A surface drip irrigation system was installed and investigated to irrigate a corn field with very little topographic variation (Plot 1) and another field with undulating terrains containing 1.75% slopes (Plot 2). Drip tapes with lateral spacing of 0.91 m and 1.82 m were placed on the soil surface 3 cm away from a planting row and in the middle line of two planting rows, respectively. Corn grain yield and nutritional properties with surface drip irrigation treatment were compared with the corn produced in the adjacent non-irrigated zones. With surface drip irrigation, the average corn yield was 8,451 kg/ha in Plot 1 and was 10,920 kg/ha in Plot 2, while without irrigation the yield was 1461 kg/ha in Plot 1 and 450 kg/ha in Plot 2. There were no significant differences (p<0.05) for yields between 0.91 m and 1.82 m drip tape lateral spacings. No significant yield differences between low and high plant populations were observed in non-irrigation zones. Compared to non-irrigation treatment, surface drip irrigation greatly reduced variations in corn yield and nutritional properties in undulating terrain field. Corn kernels with surface drip irrigation contained higher carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio and lower protein content, crude fiber, ash and fat or oil (F/O) than non-irrigation treatments. The inexpensive surface drip irrigation greatly increased corn grain yields and improved nutritional properties.
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