SDI Dripline Spacing Effect on Corn and Soybean Yield in a Piedmont Clay Soil
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 1
Abstract
A subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system was installed in the Piedmont of North Carolina in a clay soil in the fall of 2001 to test the effect of dripline spacing on corn and soybean yield. The system was zoned into three sections; each section was cropped to either corn (Zea mays L.), full-season soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], or winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) double cropped to soybean representing any year of a typical crop rotation in the region. Each section had four plots; two SDI plots with dripline spacing at either 1.52 or 2.28 m, an overhead sprinkler irrigated plot, and an unirrigated plot. There was no difference in average corn grain yield for 2002–2005 between dripline spacings or between either dripline spacing and sprinkler. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) was greater for sprinkler irrigated corn than for either SDI treatment and there was no difference in IWUE in soybean. Water typically moved laterally from the driplines 0.38 to 0.50 m. SDI yield and IWUE increased relative to sprinkler yields and water use efficiency in the second and third year of the study. This may suggest that initial fracturing of the heavy clay soil during SDI system installation and subsequent settling of the soil affected water distribution.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this project has been provided by the North Carolina Corn Growers Association, Inc., and the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, Inc. Raymond Coltrain (superintendent) and the Piedmont Research Station staff assisted in SDI system installation and monitoring. T-systems International, Toro, Agricultural Products, Inc., and Fresno Valves donated SDI system components.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 1 • January 2011
Pages: 27 - 36
Copyright
© 2011 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 14, 2010
Accepted: Jun 28, 2010
Published online: Jul 12, 2010
Published in print: Jan 2011
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