How Integrating Nutrient & Irrigation Strategies Can Boost Profitability

Like a winning football team that has both its offense and defense working together, so is like integrated nitrogen and irrigation management in arid and semi-arid environments.  In rain-limited areas, being on top of management is key.  Water and nitrogen go hand in hand. 

Irrigated acres require a different game plan than rainfed fields in higher precipitation areas.  Initial soil moisture levels are measured to get a check of the profile, then periodic irrigation passes take place through the growing season.  

As we’ve discussed before, holding off irrigation during the vegetative growth phase is beneficial to developing corn; it causes it to seek water at lower levels and place roots deeper, tapping into both nutrients and water.  This strategy can be affected by an unexpected heavy spring storm, but generally it’s a solid play. 

Supplying the crop with water during times of high evapotranspiration and low natural precipitation is important.  With these timely irrigation passes, the corn can continue to develop with reduced stress.  Generally, from late-vegetative through R4, sometimes into R5 growth stages, requires steady irrigation passes. 

Likewise, applying nitrogen when the corn crop needs it (starting around V6 and increasing through mid-vegetation, dropping back around R4) is key to supplying sufficient nitrogen at the right time.  Logistics may dictate that more nitrogen is applied pre- or at-planting but saving some or most of the nitrogen for the rapid N uptake in mid-to-late vegetative stages is ideal. 

Diagram showing how nitrogen uptake in corn changes throughout its different growth stages.

Integration Is the Key 

Coordinating the applications and amounts of nitrogen and water under irrigated conditions is a smart play.  With tools from Sentinel and Nave, farmers are now better able to understand their fields’ soil nitrogen and water conditions and likely conditions as the season progresses.  Knowing when to pull (or if) to call the audible to put on an extra nitrogen pass with the irrigation, or if that last round of water at R5 is needed, helps the farmer invest his time and resources better. 

Running nitrogen management with no recognition of the water side is foolish; we know that water availability drives nitrogen uptake – a drought-stricken plant won’t take nitrogen up and develop properly.  Likewise, not building nitrogen into the irrigation plan is also lacking; through fertigation timely nitrogen can be applied when the crop is demanding it. 

For irrigated corn growers, Sentinel believes nitrogen and water management should be coordinated and working together.  Each should be informing the other and proper management should respond.  By integrating Sentinel’s nitrogen capabilities with Nave’s focus on water, a winning team is ready to take the field on your behalf. 

Take the next step in integrated nitrogen and irrigation management.

See how Sentinel’s nitrogen modeling and Nave’s irrigation decision tools support smarter management, better water use efficiency, and stronger performance.

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