Water Use and Yield of Dryland Row Crops as Affected by Tillage

Abstract

The dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)‐grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]‐fallow rotation is suitable for large areas of the U.S. Great Plains. High temperatures and potential evapotranspiration limit the number of other crops that can be grown. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is drought tolerant, but crops such as corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] are perceived to lack sufficient heat and drought tolerance for semiarid areas. A study was conducted near Garden City, KS, from 1991 through 1995 to compare yield and water uses of conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) corn, grain sorghum, sunflower, and soybean to determine if crops other than grain sorghum are suitable for dryland production. Conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) were included in a wheat‐row crop‐fallow rotation. Corn and soybean were similar in their depletion of soil water, as were sorghum and sunflower. Below a depth of 1.2 m, sorghum and sunflower removed the most water. Sunflower removed the most water from the last 0.3 m of the profile and probably removed deeper water. Sorghum and sunflower removed an average of 19 mm more water from the 1.8‐m soil profile than did corn and soybean. No‐till increased yields of corn in 3 yr, of sorghum and sunflower in 2 yr, and of soybean in 1 yr. Corn had the greatest yield response to NT, averaging 31%. Average yields of corn were 25% higher than sorghum yields, whereas average yields of sunflower were 83% higher than soybean yields. Other crops can be successfully grown in the wheat‐row crop‐fallow rotation, but sorghum should occupy the most acres until the other crops have been tested under different climatic conditions.

Water use and grain yield response of rainfed soybean to tillage-mulch practices in southeastern Nigeria

“…This compares favorably with the range (2.00-2.35 kg ha -1 mm -1 ) reported for the crop under similar management and dryland conditions elsewhere (Norwood, 1999;Varvel, 1995).…”

“…Specifically for soybean, the effect of tillage methods on yield is inconsistent. It has been reported to be variable among years (Norwood, 1999;Singer et al, 2008;Thiagalingam et al, 1996) or higher with NT (Pederson and Lauer, 2003;Temperly and Borges, 2006) or higher with CT (Fecak et al, 2010;Lasisi and Aluko, 2009;Onwualu and Ahaneku, 2001). There are also studies showing only marginal differences in soybean yields between NT and CT (Alvarez and Steinbach, 2009;Koga and Tsuji, 2009;Rodrigues et al, 2009).…”

Use of crop simulation models to evaluate limited irrigation management options for corn in a semiarid environment

“…Corn production in Colorado has increased dramatically in the past 2 decades with the availability of irrigation systems and cultivars with improved radiation and water use efficiency [Norwood, 2001;Castleberry et al, 1984;Hergert et al, 1993]. Crop water stress due to low precipitation and high temperatures are the main limiting factors for agricultural production in the Great Plains [Halvorson et al, 1999;Norwood, 1999]. Currently in these areas, corn is primarily grown under either rain-fed or full irrigation regimes.…”

Simulating the Probability of Grain Sorghum Maturity before the First Frost in Northeastern Colorado

“…1 Accumulated growing degree-days (GDD) required to initiate germination. Equation (1) is used for calculating GDD; 2 Seedbed water conditions are based on % water-filled pore space: optimum (>45%), medium (35%-45%), dry (25%-35%), and dust (<25%); 3 Soil moisture in this category is below the minimum threshold to initiate the imbibition process.…”

“…Interest in growing grain sorghum in northeastern Colorado is driven partly due to its high adaptability in semiarid regions and lower production costs compared to maize (Zea mays L.) [1,2]. Grain sorghum is also considered more drought tolerant than maize and higher yielding in dry years in eastern Colorado [2,3]. However, successfully growing grain sorghum in northeastern Colorado is thought to be limited by shorter growing seasons and cool night temperatures in the spring and fall.…”