YOUR BEST PRACTICE
moisture stress for every day from the time the corn emerges up through tassel. This level of moisture stress is very unlikely to happen during the vegetative stage in fields that were irrigated the previous year but could easily happen during the much shorter silking stage. FAO has produced charts that show very similar results for most other crops grown for grain.
Nebraska research suggests that some leaf rolling during the afternoons during the vegetative stage will not reduce yield significantly, if at all. Corn leaf rolling will often start in areas of soil compaction like field driveways or turn rows. These areas are usually small compared to the whole field but are evident from the road. The bigger question is what is going on over the majority of the field. Soil water monitoring is an excellent way to know how much water is in the root zone and gives you added confidence to put on just enough water to produce optimum yields.
Figure 1. Relationship between relative yield decrease (1-YieldActual/YieldMax) and relative ET deficit for the individual growth periods. (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization)
In summary, research suggests that little irrigation is needed most years on corn during the vegetative stage to produce top yields in the eastern two-thirds of Nebraska on silt loam soils. Although this research may not have been conducted in your state, it should help you critically think about how much water you need to put on corn during the vegetative stage. Sandy soils or shallow alluvial soils with underlying sands will need more irrigation of course, but keep in mind the research shows moderate moisture stress during the vegetative stage will not usually lower yields much, if any. However, fields with lower capacity irrigation systems, especially in combination with sandy soils, will need to start prior to the reproductive stage
to assure corn can be fully watered by tassel time.
Steven Melvin is an extension educator at the West Central Research
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irrigationtoday.org Summer 2022 | Irrigation TODAY 31
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