Page 18 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

XiaolinQu, M.S., Lal K. Almas: The water requirement and profitability analysis of corn using irrigation
management approaches including evapotranspiration and weather data

irrigators which requires them agree on a certain limitation of water use in

irrigation. In this way, the subsidy makes up the profit gap due to different levels

of irrigation application that producers are encountered and to some degree the

water resource could be conserved.

Conclusions

Corn is the intensive water-use crop in the Texas Panhandle area. Due to the

important role irrigation has played in the regional economy of this area, this study

analyzes corn production under three water approaches including total available

water (TW), irrigation application and Percent of Potential Evapotranspiration

(PPET) to determine the optimal production decisions regarding these approaches.

The producers only have control over the amount of the irrigation application while

the irrigation level could affect the amount of total available water and PPET.

The optimum levels of TW, irrigation application and PPET for corn range

from 23.53 to 32.25 acre inches, 20.12 to 25.75 acre inches and 55.42% to

107.57% respectively when corn is sold at $3/bushel to $7.5/bushel. Based on the

economic results, benefit analysis is conducted and it proves that the use of PET

information could help improve the water conservation decision-making process.

While for the future study, more detailed analysis of PPET should be

included. For example, determine the PPET levels at certain growth stages. Also,

irrigation timing should be a variable being taken into consideration in such

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