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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #61250
Title: EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, GROWTH, AND YIELD OF A SHORT SEASON CORN VARIETY

Author
item Tolk, Judy
item Howell, Terry
item Evett, Steven - Steve
item Schneider, Arland

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/30/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Evapotranspiration (ET) and yield of a short season corn (Zea mays L.) variety (PIO 3737) were compared under dryland with conventional tillage, dryland with wheat residue, and full irrigation in 1994 at Bushland, TX, on a Pullman clay loam (Torretic Paleustoll). The corn was planted in three 4-ha fields, each containing a weighing lysimeter. Approximately 120-mm greater soil water content at mid-vegetative growth stage in the dryland wheat residue field than in the conventionally tilled field resulted in 70% greater leaf area index and 32% greater above ground dry matter by anthesis. High temperatures and drought occurred during these growth stages. Compared with the corn on the wheat residue field, the conventionally tilled dryland corn had 13% lower ET but 81% lower water use efficiency (WUE), which declined from 1.25 to 0.24 kg m**-3. The fully irrigated crop yielded 1.13 kg m**-2 of grain, with a WUE of 1.66 kg m**-3. .