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Corn Yield and Water-Use Efficiency as Affected by Tillage and Irrigation

Dep. of Soil Science, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC 27695

*Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Water is the main factor limiting row crop production in the southeastern USA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of three irrigation regimes and two tillage systems on corn (Zea mays L.) production and water-use efficiency in the North Carolina Piedmont. An experiment was conducted on a Hiwassee clay loam (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic Rhodic Kanhapludult) from 1986 through 1989. Tillage treatments were conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) in factorial combination with the following irrigation treatments: (i) full, where plots received 2.5 cm of water beginning 5 wk after planting when soil water pressure decreased to –60 kPa at 30 cm; (ii) limited, where 2.5-cm of water was applied according to the criterion above, but only from 2 wk before tasseling to 2 wk after silking; and (iii) dryland, no irrigation. The first 3 yr were drier, and 1989 was slightly wetter, than normal. Grain and silage yields were significantly different for irrigation and tillage each year, except for grain in 1986. Mean 4-yr grain yields were 4.45 Mg ha^–1 for dryland, 8.00 Mg ha^–1 for limited, and 10.77 Mg ha^–1 for full irrigation. The mean 4-yr grain yield for CT was 7.47 Mg ha^–1, compared with 8.01 Mg ha^–1 for NT. Water-use efficiency for corn grain was similar for both tillage treatments, being 217 kg ha^–1 cm^–1 of applied irrigation water; for silage, water-use efficiency was 277 kg ha^–1 cm^–1 for CT compared with 381 kg ha^–1 cm^–1 for NT. These results indicate the potential for irrigation in Piedmont areas with limited water supplies when used in conjunction with the soil-water-conserving aspect of a NT system.

Received for publication March 16, 1992.

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