Abstract
Summary With declining water levels in the Ogallala aquifer, many wells cannot supply peak irrigation water needs for corn. Emerging drought-tolerant (DT) corn hybrids could help farmers maintain yield with limited capacity wells. A knowledge gap exists com-paring transgenic DT and conventional corn hybrids in yield response to water level. The purpose of this study was to compare yield, yield components, water productivity, and irrigation water use efficiency response of DT corn with cspB (DKC 6267 DGVT-2PRO) transgene trait and conventional corn hybrid (DKC 62-98 VT2PRO) with similar maturity to full and limited irrigation. Preliminary results from the 2014 grow-ing season indicate the effect of irrigation level on corn yield was significant ( P-val-ue<0.001) . The effect of the cspB transgene trait in the DT hybrid did not affect yield ( P-value=0.32) , and there was no effect of the interaction between irrigation level and corn hybrid on yield ( P-value=0.82) . The effect of irrigation and hybrid on 100 kernel weight was significant, with
Highlights
Corn is the primary irrigated crop in western Kansas, and reducing the amount of irrigation water required for profitable corn production is important to extend the usable life of the Ogallala Aquifer
The 100 kernel weight is a measure of kernel size, and was higher for the conventional hybrid compared to the DT hybrid
The 100 kernel weight, which is a measurement of kernel size, was higher for the conventional hybrid compared to the DT hybrid
Summary
Corn is the primary irrigated crop in western Kansas, and reducing the amount of irrigation water required for profitable corn production is important to extend the usable life of the Ogallala Aquifer. Declining water levels in the aquifer have resulted in an increased number of low-capacity wells, causing producers to switch from irrigated to dryland production. Many low-capacity wells cannot supply peak irrigation water needs for corn during the summer, causing producers to rely on soil water reserves from preseason irrigation or overwinter precipitation capture and storage. Limited irrigation management strategies — such as reducing irrigated area and allocating water to different crops, reduced tillage and residue management, preseason irrigation, nutrient management, and crop rotations — are used by producers to cope with low-capacity systems. Combining limited irrigation management strategies and DT corn technologies could help producers stabilize yields and incomes with limited water
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