Drip Irrigation for Corn

Growing corn with drip irrigation has been a common practice in many parts of the world for over 30 years. Drip systems maintain certain unique characteristics that help make them the best irrigation alternative for corn in many growing scenarios.
Drip is ideal for irrigating corn with limited water budgets: Drip increases water use efficiency, since it creates no evaporation or run-off, and the water is precisely targeted to the root zone. Drip fits all plot shapes and sizes: Unlike center pivots and other irrigation methods, drip can be used in odd-shaped and small fields. Drip can achieve perfect water distribution even on extreme slopes: Pressure compensated drippers allow uniform water emission across all parts of the plot regardless of slope, and unlike other irrigation methods, drip installation in sloped areas is common practice. Drip is ideal for rainy areas due to efficient fertilization: Drip enables daily fertilizer application so that the fertilizer can be divided into small portions, leading to less nutrient loss due to leaching caused by rain. Drip requires the lowest energy consumption: Drip operates at low pressures, so it can significantly cut irrigation costs, compared to other pressurized systems in areas where electricity is expensive. Drip is ideal for irrigating uniformly under windy conditions: Drip is unaffected by wind – unlike overhead irrigation systems.

In the evolving history of irrigating corn with drip, the first areas worldwide that adopted the method were arid and semiarid locations where water scarcity is severe, and where rain during the growing season is scarce or non-existent. For example, drip has replaced sprinkler and traveler gun irrigation in the area of Konya in central Turkey, where hundreds of thousands of hectares are irrigated annually. There has been a similar trend in parts of the US, especially in Nebraska, Texas and Kansas. In those areas, the depletion of local aquifers has driven producers to look for irrigation practices enabling them to grow more corn with their limited water budget.

Source: https://www.netafim.africa/blog/drip-irrigation-for-corn–increasing-and-stabilizing-yields-while-saving-water/