Situation Adequate drainage is essential for maximum soybean production and becomes even more important with irrigation. The benefits of irrigation are usually reduced if a field is poorly drained. Little can be done to improve internal soil drainage, so efforts should be directed to improving surface drainage. When growth and yield factors are rated according to importance, the availability of moisture always ranks near the top. Yields, up to a point, are determined by the availability and use of moisture.
Irrigation is a means by which an adequate moisture supply to the crop can be better assured.
This yield stabilization can allow a more aggressive marketing program. In addition, loaning agencies in some areas are evaluating the percentage of a grower s soybean acreage that can be irrigated before they issue a crop production loan. By the reproductive growth period, when irrigation is often first needed, approximately 50 to 60 percent of the production costs are already invested in the crop. Irrigation serves as insurance against a drought that can result in yields that do not even cover production costs, especially for double-crop soybean production. Back to top Yield Irrigated yields are well documented in many research and Extension studies.