Irrigation development during the last 50 years has led to overdraft in many areas of the
large Ogallala aquifer in the central United States. Faced with the decline in irrigated acres,
irrigators and water resource personnel are examining many new techniques to conserve
this valuable resource. A three-year study (1989 to 1991) was conducted on a Keith silt loam
soil (Aridic Argiustoll) in northwest Kansas to determine the water requirement of corn (Zea
mays L.) grown using a subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system. A dryland control and five …