Evaluation of maize production under mobile drip irrigation

Declining water levels in the Ogallala aquifer of the U.S. High Plains necessitate more efficient irrigation technology to sustain agricultural production. A study to evaluate the performance of Mobile Drip Irrigation (MDI) for maize production, in comparison to common center-pivot nozzles (Low Elevation Spray Application (LESA) and Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA)) was conducted. A center-pivot was retrofitted with MDI, LEPA and LESA. Irrigation capacities of 6.3, 3.1, and 1.6 mm/d were considered. Grain yield, water use efficiency, above ground biomass, leaf area index (LAI), and soil water content was compared. Differences in grain yield between irrigation application devices were not significant (p = 0.085), but there were differences between irrigation capacities (p < 0.0001) at 5% significance level. There were no significant differences in monthly biomass yield between the application devices but there were significant differences in biomass yield between irrigation capacities. There were no significant differences in LAI between both the application devices and irrigation capacities. There were no significant differences in water use efficiency between the application technologies (p = 0.2352), at 5% significance level, however, differences between irrigation capacities were significant (p = 0.050). Generally, crop biophysical measurements under MDI were not significantly different from those under LEPA and LESA. Any marginal benefits of MDI were likely masked by rainfall, thus further evaluation of MDI is recommended under conditions of less applied water than LEPA or LESA accompanied by low rainfall. The other benefits of MDI were found in reduction of wheel-track rutting and ease of carrying out fertigation.