Durum response to soil water depletion levels at Stanfield, 2002

Abstract

This research was conducted to test the effect of soil water depletion levels on durum productivity. An experiment was conducted at a commercial farm in Stanfield where irrigations were applied at 35, 50, or 65% depletion of plant available soil water. These soil water depletion levels were estimated from soil texture and weather data. The grain yields obtained with 35, 50, and 65% depletion were 6718, 6324, and 4752 lbs/acre, respectively. Grain protein decreased and HVAC increased by irrigating more frequently at lower depletion levels. Irrigating at 50% depletion was the most economical in this study considering irrigation costs and grain quality discounts.