Evaluation on returns from irrigation of corn in a sub-humid climate

✍ Scribed by V.N. Asopa; J.W.B. Guise; E.R. Swanson

• Book ID: 102979199
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1973
• Weight: 758 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-1571
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-1571(73)90051-4

✦ Synopsis

The objective of the research reported in this article is: (1) to identify the best times for application of supplemental irrigation water so as to establish optimal operating policies; and (2) to examine the implied economic feasibility of investment in irrigation equipment. A weather-input corn-output relation is utilized as a basis for a dynamic programming analysis. The relation is also used to estimate the influence of moisture variables on corn yield. Moisture deficits were calculated using the season with the highest yield as a base. Finally, the economics of water use according to certain "rules of thumb" is examined. Important elements in the decision to invest in irrigation equipment for corn include the expected effect of irrigation on the level and year-to-year variation of income. Although these results consistently indicate a moderate increase in average net income, they do not uniformly indicate a reduction in income variation as a result of removing moisture deficits by irrigation.