Impact of irrigation, nitrogen fertilization, and spatial management on maize

Improving water and Nuse efficiency is essential to the sustainable intensification of irrigated agriculture, providing both crop production and environmental benefits. Partial rootzone irrigation has emerged as one of the most promising forms of deficit irrigation, irrigating only one side of the root zone during an irrigation event while keeping the other side dry. By alternating partial root-zone irrigation with N fertilization it is a possible trigger to physiologic responses in growing crops that reduce evapotranspiration as well as to curtail nitrate leaching associated with conventional irrigation. A growing body of research reveals that careful manipulation of irrigation and N fertilizer application increases maize yield, water use efficiency, and N use efficiency while decreasing soil N leaching, N₂O emission, and NH₃ loss. Success, however, hinges on tying management to the dynamics of soil moisture within fertilized furrows.