Skip to content

Drip Fertigation in Maize

Drip fertigation in maize delivers water and split applications of water-soluble fertiliser through inline drip laterals laid between paired rows, replacing furrow or rain-fed nutrient application. The technique is among the more recent extensions of drip technology from horticulture to a field crop, validated under semi-arid Indian conditions for both kharif and rabi maize.

Principle

Maize draws nitrogen and potassium most heavily during the vegetative-to-tasseling and grain-fill phases. Conventional broadcast urea applied at sowing and one or two top-dressings loses large fractions to volatilisation and leaching before peak demand. Drip fertigation injects soluble nitrogen (urea, calcium ammonium nitrate) and potassium (13:0:45) in small bi-weekly or weekly doses through the line, holding nutrient supply in step with crop uptake.

Implementation

Standard layout is one lateral between paired rows, with 2 lph inline emitters at approximately 60 cm spacing. Field experiments on no-till rabi maize in semi-arid Telangana (Warangal) found kernel yield rose as irrigation moved from 75 to 100 percent of pan evaporation and fertigated nitrogen rose from 120 to 160 kg/ha. Common schedules use three fertigation rounds of 19:19:19 stepping up to 13:0:45 as the crop approaches tasseling. Aggregate yield gains of 30-50 percent over conventional flood or rainfed irrigation have been recorded across multiple state trials.

Adoption context

The system is most attractive on borewell-dependent rabi maize where water is scarce and high-density planting is feasible. Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have demonstration blocks under PMKSY-PDMC. ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research provides technical backstopping on hybrid and nutrition recommendations.

Limitations

Drip capital cost per hectare is the largest barrier for a relatively low-value crop compared to vegetables or fruit. Lateral movement after every cycle is labour-intensive, and emitter clogging in hard-water borewell systems requires careful filtration and periodic acid wash.

See also Drip Fertigation, Drip Fertigation Vegetables and Drip Fertigation Orchard.

References

  1. Performance of no-till maize under drip-fertigation in a double-cropping system in semi-arid Telangana. Peer-reviewed research summary.
  2. ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research. Ludhiana.