Water Use and Water Use Efficiency of Sweet Corn under Different Weather Conditions and Soil Moisture Regimes

Summary

Water use and water use efficiency of sweet corn are both markedly affected by the intra-seasonal weather variability and soil water deficit.

Situation

Sweet corn is a warm-weather crop that is grown in all 50 states of the USA; most of the production is for the fresh market. Florida, California, New York, and Georgia are the leading fresh market producers, contributing approximately 60% of the total production. The southeastern USA is the most important sweet corn producer for the winter fresh market. Normally, sweet corn is planted over an extended planting window to allow for a continuous supply for the fresh market. However, this planting window imposes the crop to major stresses and weather risks, including droughts that can modify the availability of water in the root zone due to soil moisture deficit, excess water, as well as low temperatures during early planting.

Response

An experiment using a super sweet variety was conducted in 2006 at the Bledsoe Research Farm (BRF) located in Williamson, Pike County. The experiment consisted of one planting date (March 27) for rainfed conditions and three planting dates (March 27, April 10 and April 25) for irrigated conditions. The crop was planted in rows that had a distance of 32 in and a distance of 5.5 in between plants. For all treatments, fertilizer amounts as well as pests and diseases control were applied following the recommendations of the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. The experiment received 1000 lb/acre of NPK (7:14:21) at planting and 200 lb/acre of N (ammonium sulfate) in two sidedress applications. Applications were pop-up applied as dribble besides row at planting and at 6–8 unfolded leaves and at 12 unfolded leaves.

Impact

The water use and water use efficiency of sweet corn were both markedly affected by the intra-seasonal weather variability and the soil water deficit. Differences on water use and water use efficiency were found between planting dates under irrigated conditions and between the irrigated and rainfed treatments. The water use was as high as 10.6 in for the April 10 planting date under irrigated conditions and as low as 4.8 in for the March 27 planting date under rainfed conditions. The maximum soil moisture deficit, reached when the ear was at milky kernel stage, was as high as 13.5 in for the March 27 planting date under rainfed conditions and as low as 10.2 in for the April 10 planting date under irrigated conditions. Further work should focus on the impact of the intra-seasonal weather variability and soil moisture conditions during different crop stages to determine critical periods that affect yield.

State Issue

Agricultural Profitability and Sustainability

Details

• Year: 2009
• Geographic Scope: State
• County: Spalding
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources