DIFFERENTIATION OF THE MOISTENED SOIL LAYER DEPTH AS AN ELEMENT OF WATER CONSERVATION AND PRECISION IRRIGATION IN CORN GROWING

Authors:Semenenko Sergey Ya., Tikhonova Margarita K.

633.15:631.67
Theme: Land reclamation, water manadgement and agrophysics
Views: 84

Annotation

Purpose: to develop a technology for corn irrigation with differentiation of the moistened soil layer in accordance with the root system growth dynamic.

Materials and methods. The study was based on the methods of field experiment and comparison. Moistening technologies were tested on the mid-early corn hybrid of domestic selection Khoper 255 MV. Field experiments were carried out on the territory of the land use of the Oroshaemaya experimental station of the All-Russian Research Institute of Irrigated Agriculture according to generally accepted methods in agricultural science, on zonal light chestnut soils with the presence of an erosive slope of southern exposure with a slope of the irrigated field surface of 0.0021. The groundwater depth is below 12.0 m.

Results. A comparison of the results obtained using traditional corn irrigation elements with the data from the application of the developed technologies shows that technologies with differentiation of the moistened soil layer depth as the root system grows allow for fresh irrigation water savings of 15.4–19.2 %. The analysis of the developed technology, confirming the significant difference in the obtained yield values, led to the assertion that, within the range of the hydrothermal coefficient observed over the years of research from 0.30 to 0.82, with the planned grain yield of the mid-early maturing corn hybrid Khoper 255 MV of 13.0 t/ha, it is possible to obtain it consistently at a level of 13.06–13.72 t/ha with the mineral fertilizer application at a dose of N₂₂₈P₁₀₀K₁₈₀.

Conclusions. Transitioning irrigated agriculture to the accounting and regulation of each element of crop cultivation technology, in our case, corn, will ensure significant resource conservation and increase the competitiveness of agricultural products.

doi: 10.31774/2712-9357-2026-16-1-19-35

Keywords

irrigated agriculture, precision irrigation, corn, pre-irrigation threshold, differentiated moistening depth, active soil layer

For quoting

Semenenko S. Ya., Tikhonova M. K. Differentiation of the moistened soil layer depth as an element of water conservation and precision irrigation in corn growing Land Reclamation and Hydraulic Engineering. 2026;16(1):19–35. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31774/2712-9357-2026-16-1-19-35.

Authors

S. Ya. Semenenko – Chief Researcher, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor, All-Russian Research Institute of Irrigated Agriculture – branch of the Federal Scientific Center of Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation named after A. N. Kostyakov (400002, Volgograd, st. Timiryazev, 9), sergeysemenenko@list.ru, ORCID: 0000-00015992-8127;

M. K. Tikhonova – Senior Researcher, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, All-Russian Research Institute of Irrigated Agriculture – branch of the Federal Scientific Center of Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation named after A. N. Kostyakov (400002, Volgograd, st. Timiryazev, 9), tihonovamk.vniioz@yandex.ru, ORCID: 0000-0001-8451-0443.

Bibliography

1. Panfilova O.N., Chugunova E.V., Derunova S.N., 2020. Iskhodnyy material dlya selektsii kukuruzy na zasukhoustoychivost' [Source material for the selection of corn for drought tolerance]. Agrarnyy nauchnyy zhurnal [Agrarian Scientific Journal], no. 2, pp. 29-37, DOI: 10.28983/asj.y2020i2pp29-37, EDN: IFEPOP. (In Russian).

2. Chugunova E.V., Naboychenko K.V., Novikov A.A., 2024. Novyy gibrid kukuruzy Khoper 258 MV dlya zasushlivykh usloviy yugo-vostoka Rossii [New maize hybrid Khoper 258 MV for arid conditions of southeastern Russia]. Oroshaemoe zemledelie [Irrigated Agriculture], no. 4(47), pp. 17-21, DOI: 10.35809/2618-8279-2024-4-2, EDN: LVYSPB. (In Russian).

3. Kruzhilin I.P., Tikhonova M.K., Semenenko S.Ya., Siukov S.S., 2024. Osobennosti vodopotrebleniya rannespelykh gibridov kukuruzy otechestvennoy selektsii [Features of water consumption of early-maturing corn hybrids of domestic selection]. Melioratsiya i oroshayemoe zemledelie v reshenii zadach ustoychivogo razvitiya APK. K 100-letiyu Vserossiyskogo nauchno-issledovatel'skogo instituta gidrotekhniki i melioratsii im. A. N. Kostyakova [Land Reclamation and Irrigated Agriculture in Solving Problems of Sustainable Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex. On the 100th Anniversary of the All-Russian Research Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation named after A. N. Kostyakov]. Moscow, pp. 233-238, DOI: 10.37738/VNIIGIM.2024.45.46.027, EDN: SOQNIN. (In Russian).

4. Gurina I.V., Mikheev N.V., Gurin K.G., 2023. Vodosberegayushchie polivy kukuruzy na meliorirovannykh zemlyakh Rostovskoy oblasti [Water-saving irrigation of corn on the reclaimed lands of the Rostov region]. Melioratsiya i gidrotekhnika [Land Reclamation and Hydraulic Engineering], vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 17-29, DOI: 10.31774/2712-9357-2023-13-3-17-29. EDN: RJLGYX. (In Russian).

5. Kuzmitskaya G.A., Menshinina I.Yu., Gashevsky V.R., 2023. Sravnitel'naya otsenka produktivnosti perspektivnykh gibridov kukuruzy v usloviyakh zony riskovannogo zemledeliya Priamur'ya [Comparative assessment of the productivity of promising corn hybrids in conditions of risk farming zone of the Amur river region]. Vestnik rossiyskoy sel'skokhozyaystvennoy nauki [Bulletin of Russian Agricultural Science], no. 1, pp. 44-47, DOI: 10.31857/2500-2082/2023/1/44-47, EDN: OJPUBV. (In Russian).

6. Kuznetsov P.I., Novikov A.E., Melnikov A.G., 2011. Innovatsionnye tekhnologii vozdelyvaniya kukuruzy na oroshaemykh zemlyakh [Innovative technologies of maize growing on irrigated lands]. Zemledelie [Agriculture], no. 2, pp. 13-14, EDN: NXLRLJ. (In Russian).

7. Segovia-Cardozo D.A., Rodríguez-Sinobas L., Zubelzu S., 2019. Water use efficiency of corn among the irrigation districts across the Duero river basin (Spain): Estimation of local crop coefficients by satellite images. Agricultural Water Management, vol. 212, pp. 241-251, DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2018.08.042.

8. Lopez-Valdivia I., Vallebueno-Estrada M., Rangarajan H., Swarts K., Benz B.F., Blake M., Sidhu J.S., Perez-Limon S., Sawers R.J.H., Schneider H., Lynch J.P., 2025. In silico analysis of the evolution of room phenotypes during maize domestication in Neolithic soil of Tehuacan. New Phytologist, vol. 248, pp. 339-353, DOI: 10.1111/nph.70245.

9. Mulhollem J., 2025. Corn root traits evolved with human-driven and natural environmental changes, study shows. Aug. 19, available: https:phys.org/news/2025-08-corn-root-traits-evolved-human.html [accessed 01.02.2026].

10. Kostyakov A.N., 1960. Osnovy melioratsiy [Fundamentals of Land Reclamation]. Moscow, Selkhozgiz Publ., 622 p., EDN: ZRKDXB. (In Russian).

11. Rodin K.A., Vorontsova E.S., Voronin G.A., 2023. Sravnitel'naya otsenka gibridov kukuruzy pri dozhdevanii v usloviyakh Nizhnego Povolzh'ya [Comparative evaluation of corn hybrids during sprinkling in the conditions in the Lower Volga region]. Izvestiya Nizhnevolzhskogo agrouniversitetskogo kompleksa: nauka i vysshee professional'noe obrazovanie [Proceedings of the Lower Volga Agro-University Complex: Science and Higher Education], no. 1(69), pp. 248-254, DOI: 10.32786/2071-9485-2023-01-26, EDN: BBRUNB. (In Russian).

12. Monastyrsky V.A., Tishchenko Ya.S., 2023. Vliyanie orositel'nykh melioratsiy pri vyrashchivanii kukuruzy [The influence of irrigation reclamation during corn growing]. Melioratsiya i gidrotekhnika [Land Reclamation and Hydraulic Engineering], vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 281-294, DOI: 10.31774/2712-9357-2023-13-4-281-294, EDN: FOUMKI. (In Russian).

13. Magomedaliev S.A., Ismailov A.B., 2025. Sovershenstvovanie elementov technologii vozdelyvaniya kukuruzy na zerno v oroshaemykh usloviyakh Dagestana [Improvement of the elements of corn cultivation technology for grain in irrigated conditions of Dagestan]. Izvestiya Dagestanskogo GAU [Bulletin of Dagestan State Agrarian University], no. 1(25), pp. 47-51, DOI: 10.52671/26867591-2025-1-47, EDN: RHOFMU. (In Russian).

14. Yin L., Lv Q., Wang P., Xie H., 2024. Changes in the degree of lateral root trait plasticity and trade-offs of maize under long-term no tillage. Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 15, DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1345189, EDN: UMJWKB.

15. Melikhov V.V., Frolova M.V., Lysenko I.A., 2022. Produktivnost' zernovoy kukuruzy v zavisimosti ot sposobov osnovnoy obrabotki pochvy [Productivity of grain corn depending on the methods of primary tillage]. Izvestiya Nizhnevolzhskogo agrouniversitetskogo kompleksa: nauka i vysshee professional'noe obrazovanie [Proceedings of the Lower Volga Agro-University Complex: Science and Higher Education], no. 1(65), pp. 20-29, DOI: 10.32786/2071-9485-2022-01-01, EDN: MXNYUK. (In Russian).

16. Melikhov V.V., 2004. Teoriya i praktika vozdelyvaniya kukuruzy na zerno v TsChO i Povolzh'ye. Voprosy prikladnoy botaniki i selektsii [Theory and Practice of Growing Grain Corn in the Central Black Earth Region and the Volga Region. Issues of Applied Botany and Breeding]. Moscow, Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 408 p., EDN: QKWTNT. (In Russian).

17. Novikov A.E., Siukov S.S., Tikhonova M.K., Semenenko S.Ya., 2025. Agromeliorativnye i organizatsionnye sposoby bor'by s irrigatsionnym stokom v usloviyakh graduirovannykh oroshaemykh zemel' (na primere zemlepol'zovaniya opytnoy stantsii «Oroshaemaya») [Agromeliorative and organizational ways to control irrigation runoff in conditions of graduated irrigated lands (using the example of the land use of the experimental station “Irrigated”)]. Oroshaemoe zemledelie [Irrigated Agriculture], no. 1(48), pp. 42-48, DOI: 10.35809/2618-8279-2025-1-7, EDN: PQGIYW. (In Russian).