Irrigation Method and Water Quality Effects on Corn Yield in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain
1992
Adamsen, F. J.
Deep well sodic sources of irrigation water are often more readily available than high quality shallow or surface sources for corn (Zea mays L.) grown in the U.S. Southeast. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of irrigation water quality and irrigation method on corn production in the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain. Pioneer 3320 corn was grown in rotation with peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on a Kenansville loamy sand (loamy, siliceous, thermic Arenic Hapludult) in Suffolk, VA, in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988. Corn was irrigated with either overhead sprinklers or trickle lines buried 0.35 to 0.41 m below each row with sodic deep well (142 m) and non-sodic shallow (10 m) water. Sodic water had 220 mg Na L⁻¹, a pH of 8.5, and a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of 103. Non-sodic water had 4.8 mg Na L⁻¹, a pH of 4.8, and an SAR of 3.1. Corn yields averaged 9970 kg ha⁻¹ with irrigation and 7650 kg ha⁻¹ without. Irrigation method and water quality did not affect yields of irrigated corn. Soil pH increased during the study but appeared to stabilize between 6 and 7 in the surface soil. No evidence of an increase in subsoil acidity was detected. Winter rainfall and gypsum applied to the rotational peanut crop appear to be adequate to prevent the soil exchange from being dominated by Na. The results indicate that sodic water can be used to irrigate corn in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain and that trickle irrigation can reduce water input for corn by 30% or more. Contribution from USDA, ARS Peanut Production, Disease and Harvesting Research Unit, Suffolk, Va.
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