White  Food  Corn  Trial  Center  Pivot  Hereford,  Texas  Fall  -­‐  2009  RainDrops    

Summary    

In  the  fall  of  2009,  Jim  Hund,  a  farmer  in  Hereford  Texas,  conducted  a  field  trial  on  white  food  corn  using  Watermax’s  RainDrops  formula.  The  trial  was  started  

midseason.  He  found  that  RainDrops  increased  his  yield  by  up  to  7.5%  even  with  a  reduction  of  

irrigation  of  6.7%.    Goal:        To  test  the  effects  of  RainDrops  on  white  food  corn  with  a  reduction  of  irrigated  water.    Process:            This  trial  began  mid  season.                  The  trial  was  conducted  on  a  center  pivot  irrigation  system  over  a  100-­‐acre  circle.  The  circle  was  divided  into  4  quadrants,  two  of  which  were  held  constant  as  controls;  these  will  be  referred  to  as  quadrants  1  &  2.    The  other  two  quadrants,  3  and  4,  received  2  and  3  applications  of  RainDrops.          Quadrants  1  &  2  received  15  passes  of  irrigation  at  1.5”  totaling  22.5”.    In  quadrants  3  &  4,  irrigation  was  reduced  by  6.7%  and  received  14  passes  at  1.5”  totaling  21.0”.          Each  application  of  RainDrops  was  applied  at  the  rate  of  12.8  ounces  per  acre  at  4-­‐week  intervals.  

 Results:          RainDrops  was  able  to  reduce  the  amount  of  stress  between  watering  cycles.    This  allowed  quadrant  4  to    produce  7.5%  greater  yield  despite  the  6.7%  reduction  of  irrigated  water.