Texas Corn on Drip Irrigation
Part One
While corn yields were significantly lower than normal in 2011, David Carthel believed his crop's yield would survive this record-breaking drought, thanks to his drip irrigation system.
Carthel farms corn and cotton, as well as some wheat and sorghum, in Parmer County. He has drip irrigation installed across 70 acres of his corn crop this year, and his crops are relying on this system for their water supply.
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He plants in 38-inch row spacing. Carthel became interested in a drip system when he realized it conserved water and provided a greater yield than his sprinkler irrigated crops, especially when the weather was extremely dry and hot.
“I wanted to be more efficient with my water and take better care of what we have left,” Carthel said.
“And you’re seeing this year that water’s more precious than oil, and we’re trying to sustain and grow food.”
After Carthel did his pre-season watering, he waited for rain. When rain didn’t come by the end of May, Carthel put his drip system into full-use.
Instead of placing the drip system on its automatic setting, which waters for an hour and a half at each of his four stations, Carthel cycled the water in three different stages.
The first-third was watered continuously for a five-day period, followed by the second-third for six to seven days and the last-third for seven to eight days.
This method allowed his corn to get up and standing with about 90 percent germination, creating three separate emergence rates.
By watering in stages, Carthel found the crop’s top soil was less likely to dry out and plants were better-able to absorb water and nutrients.
Carthel says his drip system helps reduce evaporation and erosion from this year’s high temperatures and winds.
“There won’t be a year more challenging than this to get a crop up,” Carthel said, “but my drip proves that you can do it.”
Carthel believes he uses the same amount of water or even less than he would with sprinklers, but in a more efficient way.
While a drip system saves soil and water use, it does not save money. Carthel said drip systems are cost-prohibitive when starting out, but it is worth the cost when times get tough and additional funding through USDA-NRCS helps.
Being a third-generation farmer, Carthel has set a goal to preserve resources for future generations after he retires from his farm.
“We know how precious water is and we want to leave some for the future,” Carthel said.
View Part Two of this video series to see how his drip corn progressed despite a continuing drought.