THE INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION TREATMENTS ON YIELDS AND ON FERTILIZER UTILIZATION BY SWEET CORN AND SNAP BEANS

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Abstract
A range in each of the nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – was applied to an infertile Podzol soil in a split-plot experiment receiving the following sprinkler irrigation treatments: 1) "none", natural rainfall; 2) "minimum", 1 inch per irrigation during the critical stage of flowering to harvest; 3) "optimum", 1 inch per irrigation throughout the crop season; and 4) "excess", 2 inches per irrigation whenever 3) was applied.Both crops responded to irrigation during the flower to harvest stage but snap beans were more sensitive than sweet corn to moisture stress during the pre-flower stage. With both crops, yields from "excess" water were not significantly different from those of the "optimum" treatment.Greater yield responses were obtained from heavy rates of fertilizers with irrigation than without, and as a result the interaction of fertilizer × irrigation was significant in 3 of the 4 years. These effects appeared to be due mostly to the increased nutrient requirements of the larger crops, which resulted when moisture stress was removed, rather than to increased availability of native or applied nutrients. Phosphorus was the only nutrient whose concentration was consistently increased by irrigation, and this was slight.