Improving Water Use Efficiency in Corn (Zea mays L.) Cultivars Using Responsive Drip Irrigation

Lana Dhahir Mohammed Marofi; Sami M. Maroof

doi:10.21271/ZJPAS.38.2.8

Authors

Lana Dhahir Mohammed Marofi Department of Field Crops and Medicinal Plants, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Sami M. Maroof Department of Field Crops and Medicinal Plants, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21271/ZJPAS.38.2.8

Keywords:

Sweet corn, Irrigation system, Response drip irrigation, Production

Abstract

Excessive water use is one of the world's largest problems today. Using an appreciating irrigation system rather than a conventional irrigation system to irrigate agriculture is one way to address this problem. The research was carried out in the Grdarasha Field, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region. The location was divided into lines for three sweet corn hybrids (Talar F1 (Biotek) H1, MESSENGER (Semins) H2 and SENTINEL (Talar type) EliSem (CLAUSE) H3, with seven irrigation systems. The experiment was applied with (3×7) Factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates. Implement Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI) systems with axial pipes were installed at two depths (8 cm and 16 cm) and at varying distances (0 cm, 7.5 cm, and 15 cm) from the axial pipe. The irrigation systems assigned as follows: I1 Standard Drip Irrigation (SDI), I2: (RDI. 16 cm, 0 cm), I3: (RDI. 16 cm, 7.5 cm), I4: (RDI. 16 cm, 15 cm), I5: (RDI. 8 cm, 0 cm), I6: (RDI. 8 cm, 7.5 cm) and I7: (RDI. 8 cm, 15 cm). At eight Weeks After Emergence the tallest plant was recorded for H1 with I1 and I2. According the irrigation systems, RDI (I2, I3, I4 and I5) increased significantly (P<0.05) the wet kernal weight per cob compared with SDI. Kernal yield and harvest index increased significantly (P<0.05) for all RDI systems compared with SDI; the highest Kernal yield recorded for I2 (10.83 ton/ha) compared with SDI (6.66 ton/ha). Also, all RDI treatments reduced water use compared to SDI. Irrigation Water Use Efficiency (IWUE) increased significantly (P<0.05) in all RDI system compared to SDI system. This investigation found that the treatments using responsive drip irrigation (RDI) show substantial promise in reducing water use while maintaining crop productivity.

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