SUB SURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION & NITROGEN MANAGEMENT 2017 AND 2018 RESULTS YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY MN

Transcription

1 SUB SURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION & NITROGEN MANAGEMENT 2017 AND 2018 RESULTS YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY MN

2 OBJECTIVE The objective of this project is to quantify in-season drip irrigation and nitrogen's effect on corn yields and compare them to the typical dryland nitrogen management system.

3 Installed 14 Deep RTK 60 spacing Pressure Compensating Tape INSTALLATION APRIL 1 ST, 2017

4 2017 YIELD MAP Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 Z2 Z1 C3 C2 C1

5 Eliminated Headlands in our Descriptive Analysis

6 Soil 1 = Red: Sandy Loam Soil 2 = Tan: Loam Soil 3 = Yellow: Silty Clay Loam Soil 4 = Light Green: Clay Loam Soil 5 = Green: Heavier Clay Loam SOIL TYPES

7 C1, C2,C3 consist of 60 feet wide Non-Irrigated Dryland management Practices. (The way we have always farmed) 60 feet on both sides of Non-Irrigated strips are Irrigated and Fertigated based on seasonal demand for high yield production. Descriptive Analysis has been performed on both the C1,C2,C3 areas as well as the Irrigated/Fertigated areas. C3 C2 C1

8 YEAR BY YEAR HISTORIC DATA BY SOIL TYPE Drip Tape Dry 2007 Irr 2009 Dry 2009 Irr 2011 Dry 2011 Irr 2013 Dry 2013 Irr 2015 Dry 2015 Irr 5 Year AVG 2017 Dry 2017 Irr Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4 Soil 5

9 HISTORIC AND 2017 YIELD Drip Tape Year AVG 2017 Dry 2017 Irr 2007,2009,2011,2013,2015 Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4 Soil 5

10 Irrigated C3 Non-Irrigated Dryland (C3) C2 C1 Photo taken July 17, 2017 July 17, 2017

11 CHALLENGES IN 2017 Early April Installation caused substantially disturbed/compacted soils for spring planting Limited fertigation was applied in 2017 System Learning curve

12 FUTURE EXPECTATIONS Soils will mellow back to their natural state after a good winter freeze/thaw cycle. Significant portion of Nitrogen will be applied through fertigation. I expect yield levels and responses will increase in the next few years.

13 2018 PROJECT SUMMARY Planting Date After a blizzard on April 15 th, we were able to start planting on May 5 th and planted the drip irrigation field on May 9 th. Corn Stand With the warm weather the corn came up in 8 days with a close to perfect stand of 38,000. Nitrogen (N) Fertility Program The drip irrigation areas didn t have any pre-plant N applied. We applied 50lbs of N in a 2x2 with the planter, top-dressed 35lbs of N at V5 and 120lbs of N was applied through the drip irrigation system based on corn uptake requirements starting at V9 through R2. The C1,C2,C3 checks were fertilized with our traditional practice of 120lbs N in the fall with NH3, 50lbs of N in a 2x2 with the planter and 35lbs of N top-dressed at V5.

14 Above field capacity Too Wet Onset of stress and need to irrigate Onset of Stress Need to Irrigate

15 2018 IRRIGATION 2018 did not require any irrigation because of abundant rainfall. We did irrigate as a carrier for 28% nitrogen. It required 1/10 of water to put on 15lbs of Nitrogen. We added nitrogen 8 times throughout the summer totaling 8/10 s water and 120lbs of Nitrogen.

16 2018 IN-SEASON IMAGERY July 17th August 18th September 7th September 22nd

17 2018 YIELD MAP Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 Z2 Z1 C3 C2 C1

18 C1, C2,C3 consist of 60 feet wide Non-Irrigated Dryland management Practices. (The way we have always farmed) 60 feet on both sides of Non-Irrigated strips are Irrigated and Fertigated based on seasonal demand for high yield production. Descriptive Analysis has been performed on both the C1,C2,C3 areas as well as the Irrigated/Fertigated areas. C3 C2 C1

19 YEAR BY YEAR HISTORIC DATA BY SOIL TYPE Drip Tape Dry 2007 Irr 2009 Dry 2009 Irr 2011 Dry 2011 Irr 2013 Dry 2013 Irr 2015 Dry 2015 Irr 5 Year AVG 2017 Dry 2017 Irr 2018 Dry 2018 Irr Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4 Soil 5

20 HISTORIC & 2017/2018 YIELD Drip Tape Year AVG 2017 Dry 2017 Irr 2018 Dry 2018 Irr Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 Soil 4 Soil 5

21 CHALLENGES IN 2018 Frequent heavy rainfall events was the biggest challenge is 2018 causing saturated soil and anerobic conditions. There were several times that planned 28% applications were delayed because the field was above field capacity and couldn t hold any more water or nutrients.

22 2018 OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS With the ability to add water and nutrients we have been able to make yields significantly better and more consistent. Historically yields ranged from 128 to 204 (37.2% variability)based on soil type. In 2018 that range was 241 to 258 (6.5% variability). The last 2 years have been abnormally wetter than usual but there is still an advantage of 8.8 bushels in 2018 and 8.6 bushels in In 2018, lighter soils seem to have higher yield potential because you can control water and nutrients and not suffer as much anerobic conditions after rainfall events. Overall Plant heath shown on the imagery was significantly better on the drip irrigation areas.

23 FUTURE EXPECTATIONS If we experience less rainfall throughout the growing season the yield improvement with drip irrigation should increase considerably.