Surfactant Application on Yield and Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Corn under Limited Irrigation

Abstract

Drought, and rising water and pumping costs dictate that continued production of corn (Zea mays L.) will be limited in future years if effective water conservation strategies are not established. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of irrigation regimes in conjunction with surfactant treatments on field corn grain yield (GY), total dry matter (TDM) production, and irrigation water use efficiencies (IWUE) based on GY and TDM in a distinct Mediterranean climate, at Spadra Ranch in Pomona, CA, for 2 yr (2008 and 2009). The field experiment was set up in a split plot design with four replications where irrigation regimes (I40: 40%, I60: 60%, I80: 80%, and I100: 100% of the estimated evapotranspiration) was the main plot and application of surfactant (water treated with surfactant and no surfactant application) was assigned to the subplot. The results showed a stepwise reduction in TDM and GY in treatments both with and without surfactant as water deficit increased. However, surfactant application at any irrigation level resulted in higher GY and TDM compared to no‐surfactant treatments. Irrigation water use efficiency based on TDM and GY was the highest in I40 and the lowest in full irrigation (I100) conditions. By application of surfactant in irrigation water, both IWUE and GY increased. Surfactant application increased irrigation costs by 4.7%; however, it increased profit by 19.75%. Economic evaluation showed that the grain yield increment could compensate surfactant price and consequently the same profit achieved with applying 40% less water plus surfactant compared with 100% crop evapotranspiration with no surfactant application. In a Mediterranean climate and under limited irrigation conditions, corn could be cultivated with acceptable yields by application of surfactant.

Surfactant and Limited Irrigation Effects on Forage and Seed Production and Water Use Efficiency in Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.)

“…The surfactant treatment showed a significant influence on IWUE in all treatments (Figure 7). These results are supported by the previous reports by Chaichi et al (2015) who explained that by application of surfactant in irrigation water, both IWUE and GY (grain yield) of corn increased.…”

“…Thus, the outcome of this research indicated that by increasing the severity of limited irrigation, the amount of irrigation water that could be available for plants in limited irrigation will be increased by surfactant utilization and subsequently, IWUE for forage yield would be raised (Chaichi et al, 2015). The highest IWUE for grain yield have been reported in 50% ETc treatment (3.25 kg m -3 ) for corn by Di Paolo and Rinaldi (2008) which supports our findings.…”

“…Jahanzad et al (2013) showed a stepwise reduction in total dry matter (TDM) and grain yield (GY) of sorghum in both treatments of with and without surfactant as the limited water severity increased. However, surfactant application at any irrigation level resulted in higher grain yield (GY) and total dry matter (TDM) compared to no-surfactant treatments (Chaichi et al, 2015). Application of nonionic surfactant, (0.36 liter ha -1 ) on soybean, resulted in 37% increment in forage production (Mccauley, 1993).…”

“…So, more attention is needed to improve the management of water consumption in countries located in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Based on the research literature, limited irrigation treatments increases the pure income of farm (Chaichi et al, 2015). The goal of limited irrigation is to increase irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) by reducing the amount of water in irrigation or by reducing the number of irrigation events (Kirda, 2002).…”

“…Economical evaluation have shown that using surfactant increased yield production cost, however, the yield increment could compensate surfactant price and consequently higher profit could be achieved. By surfactant application in limited irrigation systems, higher yields could be produced (Chaichi et al, 2015).…”