HOW TO GROW MORE CORN EVERY SINGLE YEAR?

Growing corn on a large scale while facing unpredictable weather conditions or water scarcity is challenging.

However, with drip irrigation, you can take full control of when water and nutrients are delivered to your crop's root zone - reducing climate-related risk, managing inputs and securing profitability

"Precision irrigation provides the only sustainable path forward, helping rice farmers adapt to water scarcity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With smart irrigation, farmers can increase productivity, grow more crops annually, and protect soil health, offering a vital solution in a changing climate."

R Sabarinathan

Netafim Global rice agronomist

What is drip irrigation and why use it?

Drip irrigation is a water and nutrient delivery system placed either below or above the ground ,that gives you the ability to deliver water and nutrients directly to the root zone, in accurate amounts based on the plants current needs.

It can be applied in all topographies, field sizes and soil types. This means that you can maintain optimal soil moisture and nutrient levels in all conditions. This leads to savings in water and fertilizers, as well as improved yields.

Drip Irrigation allows you to:

  • Maintain control over soil moisture and nutrient levels.
  • Support increased plant populations.
  • Increase the number of irrigated hectares which leads to a significant increase in annual yields.
  • Save water and energy costs.

What can drip irrigation do for your corn growing operation?

GET HIGHER PROFITABILITY USING LESS RESOURCES

  • Higher yields, consistently and 100% land utilization 
    Drip irrigation uniformly irrigates 100% of your field, irrespective of topography, field shape and soil type. Drip irrigation delivers a yield range of 15-18 tons/ha consistently, year over year, regardless of weather conditions.
  • More corn per M3 water and per Kg fertilizer 
    Drip irrigation fosters zero evaporation or runoff, so it creates the best water use efficiency (WUE) index possible. Drip irrigation’s high nutrient application efficiency ensures maximized production per fertilizer unit.

Low running costs

  • Effective weed control 
    Precise water delivery ensures minimal weed growth, reducing herbicide application costs.
  • Minimal maintenance 
    Drip systems have no moving parts or complex mechanisms, so, when compared to pivots, they require less maintenance and endure less breakdowns. Drip irrigation systems can be operated and programmed remotely, requiring less working hands per hectare.
  • Long lasting performance 
    A subsurface drip irrigation system can last for up to 20 years, and many of the components, like filters, valves and conduction pipes, can last even longer.

Why growing corn with drip is better for the environment

Corn is the third-largest plant-based food source in the world. It is also the subject of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which used corn growing data collected over 6 years from 200 corn growers in Turkey. The results of this LCA show that drip irrigation is much more beneficial than flood or sprinkler irrigation in terms of minimizing negative environmental impact.  When compared to flood and sprinklers, corn irrigated by drip demonstrated a higher yield, required significantly less fertilizer, and resulted in reduced carbon emissions.

Growers stories

MEET THE PEOPLE PIONEERING PRECISION IRRIGATION

Everything you need to know to grow more corn

Need help finding the best solution for your farm?

Need help finding the best solution for your farm?

Get in touch, and we can talk about what your crop needs.