Irrigation Water Management Technologies for Furrow-Irrigated Corn that Decrease Water Use and Improve Yield and On-Farm Profitability

Spencer, G. Dave; Krutz, L. Jason; Falconer, Lawrence L.; Henry, W. Brien; Henry, Christopher G.; Larson, Erick J.; Pringle, H. C.; Bryant, Corey; Atwill, R. L.

doi:10.2134/cftm2018.12.0100

Cited by 37 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…There is compelling evidence that even minor modifications to existing irrigation and agronomic practices in the Mid-South USA region can result in noticeable water savings while achieving similar yields at harvest [7][8][9][10]. As anticipated, the practices evaluated in those studies and considered here are not universally adopted in the area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The use of Soil Moisture Sensors (SMS) for scheduling has the potential to save as much as 50 percent of total water applied [30]. Agronomic studies in the area showed that SMS could help improve water use efficiency in furrow irrigated soybeans [7] and corn [10] by reducing water use without reductions in yields when compared to conventional farmer-managed scheduling.…”

Section: Irrigation and Water Conservation Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adoption of Water-Conserving Irrigation Practices among Row-Crop Growers in Mississippi, USA

et al. 2020

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This article identifies irrigated row-crop farmer factors associated with the adoption of water-conserving practices. The analysis is performed on data from a survey of irrigators in Mississippi. Regression results show that the amount of irrigated area, years of education, perception of a groundwater problem, and participation in conservation programs are positively associated with practice adoption; while number of years farming, growing rice, and pumping cost are negatively associated with adoption. However, not all factors are statistically significant for all practices. Survey results indicate that only a third of growers are aware of groundwater problems at the farm or state level; and this lack of awareness is related to whether farmers noticed a change in the depth to water distance in their irrigation wells. This evidence is consistent with a report to Congress from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that recommends policies promoting the use of: (1) more efficient irrigation technology and practices and (2) precision agriculture technologies, such as soil moisture sensors and irrigation automation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Irrigation and Water Conservation Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoption of Water-Conserving Irrigation Practices among Row-Crop Growers in Mississippi, USA

et al. 2020

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“…Similar to the results from this study, sensor-based irrigation scheduling either maintained or improved IWUE for the majority of row crops seeded in the midsouthern United States. Scheduling with sensors rather than the producer standard increased IWUE on production-scale irrigation sets 36, 51, and 70% for soybean, corn, and rice, respectively (Bryant et al, 2017;Gholson, 2020;Spencer T A B L E 5 Soybean grain yield, water use, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and returns above irrigation costs for season-long threshold treatments in a furrow-irrigated soybean study comparing season-long and growth stage-based irrigation threshold treatments near Stoneville, MS, from 2015 through 2017 ., 2019). Transitioning from the producer standard to a −90 cbar threshold either had no effect or increased IWUE of cotton up to 260% (Plumblee et al, 2019).…”

Section: Season-long Threshold Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing sensor‐based irrigation scheduling that maximizes soybean grain yield, irrigation water use efficiency, and returns above irrigation costs

Wood¹,

Krutz

Henry

et al. 2020

Crop Forage & Turfgrass Mgmt

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Agricultural withdrawal from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer (MRVAA) exceeds its recharge rate, causing groundwater declines and cones of depression across the midsouthern United States. This research was conducted to determine whether sensor-based irrigation scheduling of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] could improve yield and profitability while minimizing consumptive water use. The effects of seasonlong soil water potential (SWP) threshold (−50 and −85 centibar [cbar]) on consumptive water use and on agronomic and economic parameters were compared with scheduling irrigations as a function of growth stage (VN-R2, R3-R4, and R5-R6.5) and SWP threshold (−50, −85, and −125 cbar) on a Dundee silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Typic Endoaqualfs) near Stoneville, MS, from 2015 through 2017. Decreasing the season-long SWP threshold for soybean from −50 to −85 cbar reduced consumptive water use 49% while having no adverse effect on yield, returns above irrigation costs, or irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). Adjusting the irrigation threshold as a function of growth stage did not improve yield or returns above irrigation costs. Our data indicate that maintaining a season-long irrigation threshold of −85 cbars optimizes yield, returns above irrigation costs, and IWUE efficiency while reducing withdrawal for soybean irrigation from the MRVAA up to 49% relative to the −50 cbar producer standard.

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“…Irrigation water use efficiency improvement and crop productivity are major concerns in the agricultural sector [1]. Water use efficiency is directly associated with farm profitability, soil health, water quality, water conservation, and sustainable use [2,3]. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, around 70% of the total cropland was irrigated using groundwater and surface water sources in 2017 in Louisiana (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Crop Acreage Data (2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Crop Production Using a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach: A Case of Louisiana, USA

Gautam

Paudel

Guidry

2020

Water

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The primary objective of this study is to estimate and evaluate the technical efficiency of irrigation water use in soybean (Glycine max L.) production in Louisiana, USA. We conducted a farm-level survey to assess information regarding irrigation cost, the volume of water application, and crop yield per acre during the crop year 2016. We use smoothed heterogeneous bootstrapping procedures in conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) and supplement it with a nonradial measure of efficiency known as the Russell measure. The irrigation efficiency scores obtained from both an input- and an output-based DEA approach indicate that producers are over-applying irrigation water by approximately 37 percent. The results provide evidence that an improvement in water management practices can optimize irrigation efficiency, leading to higher profits for the farmers by lowering the other input prices in the production process. The findings should provide a benchmarking tool to formulate an appropriate irrigation policy that enhances water conservation in crop production in regions with similar environmental conditions and soil characteristics.

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Irrigation Water Management Technologies for Furrow-Irrigated Corn that Decrease Water Use and Improve Yield and On-Farm Profitability

Abstract: Irrigation water management practices decreased total water applied by 39.5%.• Irrigation water management practices increased corn grain yield by 6.5 bu/acre.• Irrigation water management practices increased irrigation water use efficiency by 51.3%.

Cited by 37 publications

References 30 publications

Adoption of Water-Conserving Irrigation Practices among Row-Crop Growers in Mississippi, USA

Adoption of Water-Conserving Irrigation Practices among Row-Crop Growers in Mississippi, USA

Developing sensor‐based irrigation scheduling that maximizes soybean grain yield, irrigation water use efficiency, and returns above irrigation costs

An Evaluation of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Crop Production Using a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach: A Case of Louisiana, USA

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