How Important Is Water Management?

By: Becks Hyrbids

Water management is a key component in crop production. Beck’s Ohio Practical Farm Research (PFR)® site implemented a multi-year tile spacing study in 2015 which focused on the return oN investment (ROI) of different tile spacings at 7.5, 20, 30, 40, and 50 ft. The 40 ft. tile spacing served as the control in this study as it was the traditional spacing used at Beck’s Ohio PFR site. Click here to view the 2015 tile spacing study results.

Beck’s is conducting a second study at the southern Illinois (SIL) PFR site where tile spacing and tile depth are being compared. In this study, tile spacing of 15 ft., 30 ft., and 60 ft. are evaluated against a no tile control. Each spacing is being tested at a depth of 2 ft. and 3 ft. In 2015, significant differences were noticed early in the season in soil drying rates as the 15 ft. and 30 ft. tile spacing at both tile depths dried out at a much quicker rate than the 60 ft. spacing at either depth. No visual differences in the rate of drying or condition of the crop were noted between the 24 in. and 36 in. depth. However, the 36 in. tile depth did out yield the 24 in. depth by an average of 2.1 Bu./A.across all tile spacings.