Effect of Irrigation and Fertilizer Management on Silage Maize Productivity Under Subsurface Drip Irrigation in a Semi‐Arid Environment

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of different levels of fertilizer management (nitrogen [N], iron and zinc) and varying water regimes on yield, yield components, water productivity (WP) and irrigation water productivity (IWP) indicators under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). In 2019, two irrigation levels, namely, W1 = ET C and W2 = 0.87 W1 and, in 2020, three irrigation levels, namely, W1 = ET C , W2 = 0.84 W1 and W3 = 0.76 W1, were implemented. The fertilizer treatments were applying 150 kg N ha −1 in nine‐splits, applying 150 kg N ha −1 in three‐splits, applying 150 kg N ha −1 in three‐splits along with iron and zinc application and applying 150 kg N ha −1 in nine‐splits along with iron and zinc application. In both years, the three‐splits of N fertilizer had a better performance than the nine‐splits. The combined application of iron and zinc under full irrigation increased the total biomass (TB) and WP, and the highest TB (26 t ha −1 ) was obtained in the three‐split N treatment with iron and zinc at full irrigation. In general, deficit irrigation is not recommended for maize under an SDI system in arid areas. This is because both TB and WP exhibited significant decreases in both years when water stress was applied.