Effect of tillage and irrigation capacity on corn production
Date
2006-02
Authors
Lamm, Freddie, author
Aiken, Rob, author
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Abstract
Corn production was compared in 2004 and 2005 for three plant populations (25,400, 28,600 or 32,000 plants /acre) under conventional, strip and no tillage systems for irrigation capacities limited to 1 inch every 4, 6 or 8 days. Corn yield increased approximately 10% from the lowest to highest irrigation capacity in these two years of relatively normal precipitation and crop evapotranspiration. Strip tillage and no tillage had 5% and 3% higher grain yields than conventional tillage, respectively. Results suggest that strip tillage obtains the residue benefits of no tillage in reducing evaporation losses without the yield penalty sometimes occurring with high residue. The small increases in total seasonal water use (< 1.5 inch) for strip tillage and no-tillage compared to conventional tillage can probably be explained by the higher grain yields for these tillage systems.
Description
Presented at the 2006 Central Plains irrigation conference on February 21-22 in Colby, Kansas.