Texas Corn on Drip Irrigation
Part Three
Looking back on the extreme weather conditions in 2011, David Carthel of Friona, Texas, had one irrigation system he could count on through this record-breaking drought. Of course, he would have to wait until harvest to see what his corn yield would be, but multiple corn farmers across the state were not even able to get their crop to harvest. With the scarcity of water and constant heat, many wondered if they would make half of their normal yield. Carthel’s saving grace was his drip irrigation system, which yielded the best corn crop out of all his fields.
Carthel harvested his drip corn field in mid-October and found his yield was better than his other fields by a considerable margin.
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“All of my other fields were sprinkler corn and the drip system corn beat those by 30 percent,” Carthel said.
Regardless of the high input costs of installing a drip tape system, Carthel saved more than money this growing season. He also saved on soil and wind erosion, water evaporation and overall water consumption.
“I used water intervals with my drip system, which allowed me to use less water at one time,” Carthel explained.
By watering sections of his field at different times, Carthel gave the soil time to absorb more water. Since the drip tape is underground, Carthel’s drip corn crop never faced significant stress because the water supply was not battling the same amount of heat or evaporation that the sprinkler-irrigated crops were. The efficiency of his drip system even allowed Carthel to divert some of his water resources to his adjacent cotton crop, while still maintaining a viable corn crop.
Throughout this growing season Carthel continued to observe the benefits of his drip irrigation system. In addition to saving water and preventing soil and wind erosion, Carthel believes his drip system provided even more sub-surface moisture than other irrigation methods, which will allow him to plant his field more easily.
With all of the benefits of his drip irrigation system continuing to add up, Carthel decided to apply for more EQIP funding through his local USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Parmer County to start the initial stages of installing drip tape on another farm.
“The design has already been established and we are going to start the first stages of installing immediately after we strip the cotton this year,” Carthel said.
While Carthel doesn’t hope for another year like 2011, he will be equipped to handle Mother Nature’s toughest challenges with his drip irrigation systems.
“I think if you can get corn or cotton up this year, then you can get it up any year,” Carthel said. “There won’t be a year drier than this year.”