6-7 inches of irrigation was adequate for growing high-yielding corn in a silt loam soil near Clay Center in 2024.
Suggestions for 2025
Don’t rush irrigation early in the season. Young corn plants need little water and roots are growing deeper daily to access new moisture. Spring rainfall may reduce early season water needs significantly. See more in Early Season Irrigation During Drought.
Install and maintain reliable soil moisture sensors or consult validated commercial scheduling tools. For help, see the article, Using Soil Water Tension Sensors to Schedule Irrigation.
Track and record irrigation and rainfall to monitor allocation balances.
Coordinate with UNL Extension, crop consultants and NRD staff to explore irrigation best practices.
New Groundwater Rules Now in Effect
The Little Blue Natural Resources District (LBNRD) in south-central Nebraska has triggered its first-ever groundwater allocation program after two consecutive years of low spring groundwater levels. Effective for the 2025 crop year, each certified irrigated acre in Hydrogeologic Unit 1 receives a total of 65 acre-inches over a five-year period (an average of 13 inches per year), with up to 8 inches of unused water allowed to carry over.
In parallel, a district-wide stay on new high-capacity irrigation wells and irrigated acre expansions is now in effect. These steps reflect the seriousness of ongoing aquifer declines and aim to protect long-term groundwater availability in the region.
2024 Field Study: Comparing Irrigation Strategies
In anticipation of the allocation program, a study was conducted in 2024 at UNL’s South-Central Agricultural Laboratory (SCAL) near Clay Center to evaluate two irrigation scheduling strategies:
- Watermark sensor-based scheduling: Triggered irrigation based on average soil tension readings at 1, 2, and 3 feet.
- Commercial scheduling tool: A tool combining satellite imagery and optional soil sensor inputs to determine timing and quantity.
Five irrigation treatments, each replicated four times, were designed based on the two scheduling approaches.
Source : unl.edu