Yield variability and water use in wide-spaced furrow irrigation

• Published in: Agricultural water management Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 15 - 23
• Main Authors: Hodges, Mark E., Stone, John F., Reeves, H.Eugene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.1989; Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Series: Agricultural Water Management
• Subjects: Agricultural and forest climatology and meteorology. Irrigation. Drainage; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; CROP YIELD; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; FURROW IRRIGATION; General agronomy. Plant production; IRRIGATION A LA RAIE; Irrigation. Drainage; RENDEMENT DES CULTURES; RENDIMIENTO DE CULTIVOS; RIEGO POR SURCOS; SORGHUM BICOLOR; USO DEL AGUA; UTILISATION DE L'EAU; WATER USE; Water; Monocotyledones; Water management; United States; Oklahoma; Spacing; Water use efficiency; North America; Clay loam soil; Sorghum bicolor; Penetration; Gramineae; America; Angiospermae; Evapotranspiration; Spermatophyta; Furrow irrigation; Yield
• ISSN: 0378-3774; 1873-2283
• DOI: 10.1016/0378-3774(89)90037-1

Characteristics of crop yield and water use in wide-spaced furrow irrigation (W) were compared to every furrow irrigation (E). The study was conducted at Goodwell, Oklahoma on a clay loam soil with grain sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). E furrows were 1.42 m apart and W applied water to alternate furrows, making a 2.84 m spacing. W treatments caused no greater yield variation down the furrow than the E treatment, although about 1 2 the water was applied to the W plots as for E. In the W treatments not all furrows were irrigated at any one time and, on occasion, the dry furrows were noted to crack. Subsequent irrigation to cracked dry furrows showed significantly greater penetration of water into the profile than the E treatments. Soil water tended to be depleted to greater degree in the W treatments than the E treatment over the growing season, but seasonal evapotranspiration was lesser in the W plots.