Impacts of fertigation via sprinkler and furrow irrigation systems on yield and yield components of sweet corn

Fertigation is the application of fertilizers, soil amendments, or other water soluble products through an irrigation system. Fertigation can be applied for different kind of crops and horticultural plants as well as different types of irrigation systems, including surface and pressurized irrigation systems. Irrigated land in Golestan province is about 200000 hectares that most of them do not use fertigation system. So a research project has been done on the effectiveness of these systems on corn crop in two successive years 2007 and 2008. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete design where each treatment was replicated three times. Two treatments were 200kg ha -1(N200) and 300 kg ha-1(N300) of pure nitrogen. Amount of considered urea fertilizers were applied through split application twice in two sprinkler and furrow irrigation systems separetly. Crop was SC704 sweet corn that is planted 75 to 20 cm intervals in July after wheat harvesting in the Gorgan agricultural station. During two years of testing, 8 and 7 times irrigation were applied respectively in which two of them accompanied by fertigation. Amount of irrigation water in the first year were 527 and 313 mm for furrow and sprinkler systems respectively and in the second year were 474 and 299 mm. Average grain yield that can be canned in the first year and N200 treatment were 3375 and 4072.3 kg ha-1 and in the second year, were 2637.3 and 4165.3 kg ha-1 for furrow and sprinkler systems respectively. Average grain yield that can be canned at treatment N300 in the first year were equal to 3124.3 and 2930.3 kg ha-1 and in the second year were 2647 and 3278.3 kg ha-1, for furrow and sprinkler systems respectively. The results showed that irrigation method had significant effect at 1% level on yield and yield components. The maximum values of grain yield 4165.3 kg ha-1 from N200 treatment in 2008, cob yield of 8795.6 kg ha-1 from N200 treatment in 200, biomass of 33184.6 kg ha-1 from N200 in 2007 and total dry matter of 7598.3 kg ha-1 from N200 in 2007 has been obtained from sprinkler irrigation that shows the effectiveness of sprinkler fertigation through ventory injector. Different nitrogen fertilizer rates had a significant effect on grain yield and total dry matter at 5% level and maximum grain yield and total dry matter production were obtained in N200 treatment. Different nitrogen fertilizer rates had no significant effect on cob and biomass. In general two years results indicate the effectiveness of fertilizer use efficiency in sprinkler fertigation.