Acre Feet Of Water To Grow Corn

Plants are usually small at this stage and their root development limited resulting in much of the water applied not being available to the plants.

Acre feet of water to grow corn.

This variety of corn produces large ears that measure 9 inches long with bright yellow kernels. A 3 foot deep reservoir of soil moisture can hold as little as 3 inches on sands to as much as 6 inches on loam soils. A major challenge is to limit the. In the first three years of research each acre of land in the study produced about 10 bushels of corn for each inch of water consumed.

Soybeans can be stressed somewhat more and require less water. Water an area 2 feet in diameter around the base of each plant and apply. It is common that 6 9 inches or more can be applied in a pre irrigation event. Between the 8 leaf stage and tassel emergence corn root depth leaf area and water use grow rapidly reaching peak daily water use rates during pollination.

Irrigations that follow cultivation can also result in heavy applications of water. Trout found that corn yields varied from 210 bushels for a full application of water down to 130 bushels for the lowest irrigation level. Water sweet corn in the morning once a week if there are no heavy downpours giving each plant 1 to 1 1 2 inches of water. Water use rates grow to 0 32 inches per day when averaged over a three to five day period.

Root depth increases from 18 inches to 4 feet during this period doubling the amount of soil water available for plant growth. That equates to 1 pound of corn for each 60 gallons of water absorbed. Let s assume 9 inches will be applied and 65 bushels per acre acre will be produced. Grain takes less and forages take more.

The evaporative transpiration quotient for any crop is different but known. Statewide irrigated corn yields have averaged 184 bushels acre but yields of 220 bushels acre are not uncommon. Here is a winning variety that is triple sweet with a rich flavor that you ll love. Therefore 325 000 gallons of water are pumped per acre to produce the crop.

By the time that corn reaches tassel emergence the plant has achieved 100 percent all of its effective rooting of about 3 feet. The stalks reach 6 feet in height. In a soil that holds 1 inch of water per foot this would wet the soil to 6 9 feet much deeper than corn roots will effectively take up water. This amounts to 1 705 gallons of water per bushel of corn produced.

The kernels are sweet and can be preserved easily. In a much more general sense most row and tree crops take about 3 5 acre feet per acre. To that you must add a component of water for leaching and an adjustment for air temperature. There are roughly 27 000 gallons of water in an acre inch.

Non irrigated corn yields averaged 113 bushels acre during this same period.