Influência do manejo de irrigação via solo e via clima na cultura do milho

Abstract

In irrigated agriculture, the management of the system is a part that contributes significantly to the success of the enterprise. Thus, the objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation management via soil and via climate under corn cultivation conducted in the region of Alegrete, RS. The experiment consisted of a completely randomized design with three treatments (irrigation management): soil (T1), via climate (T2) and rainfall (T0) and 3 repetitions, being repeated during three consecutive harvests. The sowing of the corn crop was carried out in the month of October for the three harvests, under no-tillage system. A conventional sprinkler irrigation system was used. During the crop cycle the following parameters were determined: Leaf area index, plant height and number of leaves. At the end of the cycle the components of grain production were evaluated. The total applied leaf water during the crop cycle, in the last crop studied was within the need of the crop, already in the first two harvests the total volume was superior to the need of the crop, leaf area index, plant height and number of leaves showed some statistically significant differences between analyzed periods and treatments, whereas the number of spikes, plant number, number of grains, and grain weight did not present statistical differences between the treatments. It was concluded that the three years of study were rainy years at the time of cultivation, except for the last year, for this reason the results with the use of irrigation were not expressive, reflecting in the evaluated parameters. However, periods of water need occurred, requiring additional irrigation, making the management of irrigation via soil more efficient because it uses a smaller volume of water, and this is recommended, due to the lower number of irrigations.