ATLANTA, Ind. — Tile drainage is a popular addition to many farms, but there is a lack of research on the best way to tile, including the best depth or width of tiles.

 

Beck’s Hybrids is attempting to change that with its Practical Farm Research (PFR).

At last week’s Becknology Days in Atlanta, Jonathan Perkins, PFR agronomist, explained the latest water management studies at Beck’s. Preliminary results from water management sites in Effingham, Ill. show a strong advantage to corn and soybean yields with any kind of drainage tile, he said.

The field study, with only a year’s worth of data so far, is being performed in poorlydrained silt loam with a claypan layer that is 12-16 inches below the surface, which is common on southern Illinois farms.

“Conventional wisdom says that tile won’t work in this type of field. But our job is to challenge the status quo,” Perkins said.

Yield data from 2016’s study shows a “strong advantage for any crop with tiles,” he added. Specifically, the studies show a 35- to 60-bushel increase per acre for corn with tiles. Soybeans still saw an advantage with tiling, but not as much as corn.

The tests also address tile width and depth by comparing lateral runs of 15, 30 and 60 feet, as well as a control study of no tile, at depths of 24 and 36 inches.

In corn both tile depths consistently added similar yield advantages until the width reached 60 feet.

The biggest increase (of more than 55 bushels) came at 15-foot tile widths at both depths.

In soybeans, the shallow depth showed higher yield increases as the tiles became narrower.

“Soybeans have a shallower rooting system than corn, which could be why we saw such yield gains in the 24-inch depths as the width went from 60 to 15 feet,” according to the 2016 PFR book.

Perkins said the studies need about a three- to five-year duration to confirm results.

It’s too early to know yield data of 2017 yet – the second year in the water management study – but the results will be published in December’s PFR book.

“We are set up to go long term. Ten years would give us an excellent read, but five years will give us a good idea,” he said.

Other tests conducted in Effingham in 2016 included controlled water table, contour tile drainage and sub-irrigation. In southern Illinois the claypan does not allow spring rains to drain well, while crops dry out toward the end of the season.

In the controlled water table test, the gate was off during periods of extensive rain to encourage drainage, and capped in late-season dry periods to raise the water table. In the contour water tile  test, the field is drained but does not raise the water table.

Sub-irrigation was studied using both sensors and manual control. 2016 results show in some cases the strongest improvement in yield with sensor irrigation, Perkins said; however, late-June rains improved the results for controlled water table.

Perkins expects this year’s dry weather since June will reveal a bigger difference in irrigated crops.

In the control study, the corn yield reached 215.6 bushels per acre. Sensor-based irrigation produced 227 bushels, which was an 11.4-bushel advantage over the control. Contour tile and manual sub-irrigation produced near-identical results, with 8.7- and 8.6-bushel advantages, respectively.

Controlled water table showed a 4.9-bushel increase per acre, according to the 2016 PFR book, also available online. (See pages 243-245 for more on water management in corn.)

Sub-irrigation shows a bigger difference in dry seasons. In 2012, a drought year, past Beck’s studies showed a 60-bushel advantage.

For the soybean test, yield improved by 10-16 bushels with the sensor-based irrigation over the control test of no irrigation or tile drainage, with results from manual sub-irrigation following closely. (See pages 258-260 in the 2016 PFR book for soybean test results in water management.)

New this year to Beck’s field study in Effingham is the use of drip fertigation, a method of fertilizing crop roots through an underground drip line.

Perkins said the method is used more widely in Western states. “PFR tests the newer things out there and puts a pencil to it,” he noted.

The fertigation drip line was placed 10-15 inches deep in the soil in order to deliver nutrients closer to the roots than over-the-top pivot irrigation. The study tests two treatments of drip fertigation – with and without tile drainage. The site uses a Netafim drip line installed by NutriDrip, based in Kansas. The results will be published in December.

Currently the Effingham site includes corn and soybeans only, but if farmers vocalize a desire for winter wheat tests, that crop may be added, Perkins said. For further information, check http://beckshybrids.com