A comparison of precision and conventional irrigation in corn production in Southeast Alabama

Abstract

Adoption of water-conservation irrigation practices could potentially reduce water and energy use and increase profitability, as well as protect the environment. Precision irrigation consisting of soil sensors (SS) for irrigation scheduling and variable rate irrigation (VRI) was compared with conventional uniform irrigation (URI). The study was conducted in South Alabama during the 2018 and 2019 corn growing seasons. The SS-VRI and URI treatments spanned the length of the field and were compared across five different management zones (MZ) that exhibited soil and terrain differences. Soil water tension sensors were installed on each MZ-treatment area to monitor hourly soil water changes. Results showed that on the two zones covering 55% of the study field, MZ 1 and MZ 2, the SS-VRI treatment, on a two-year average, resulted in 26% less irrigation water applied compared to the URI treatment; however, there were no statistical differences between yields or yield variability among treatments. Even though in MZ 4, there was not a substantial difference in irrigation water applied among treatments, soil sensors increased the precision of irrigation rate determination during the peak of high crop water demand. Findings from this study showed that as rainfall amount and distribution change over a crop growing period, soil sensor-based irrigation scheduling could be used to prevent over- or under irrigation. With proper management, the combination of soil sensors and VRI provides farmers with the opportunity to reduce water use, while increasing or maintaining yields; however, farmers must consider the investment and operating costs relative to the benefits.

Precise control of water stress in the field reveals different response thresholds for forage yield and digestibility of maize hybrids

“…In France, this number is likely even lower because forage maize acres are managed by smaller farms with less access to the training and materials needed to monitor soil water tension. In trials comparing conventional and precision irrigation, full yield recovery was possible while water use for grain was reduced by 25% ( Bondesan et al., 2023 ). Clearly, even a relatively small reduction in stress can easily contribute to recovery of productivity.…”

Spatiotemporal Modeling of Soil Water Dynamics for Site-Specific Variable Rate Irrigation in Maize

“…From visual comparisons, Figures 8 and 9 could not reveal insight about the reasons for varying irrigation MZs within the field since there was no sign of correlation between the variations in MZs and NDVI or soil texture. Previous research has also concluded that NDVI data alone are not sufficient to make decisions in irrigation management [44]. More data, such as spatial emergence rate, plant density, leaf area index, and pest (weed and disease) pressure on plant growth, may reveal the necessary information to explain the cause of varying irrigation management zones.…”

Evaluation of an autonomous smart system for optimal management of fertigation with variable sources of irrigation water

“…However, the vast majority of drip irrigation systems remain to a certain extent “rudimentary”, due to the low adoption of technology and tools by farmers ( Bondesan et al., 2023 ). Smart systems still need to become more accessible and user-friendly for farmers to boost their adoption ( Li and Wang, 2021 ).…”