A field study was conducted near Garden City, Kansas to measure corn grain yield response to a range of rates from full to deficit irrigation. The contributions of antecedent stored soil water to crop water use were determined from soil water measurements near the beginning and the end of the growing season. Above average winter precipitation contributed to pre-plant soil water accumulations and deficit irrigation caused more growing season stored soil water use. Field results were compared with the Crop Water Yield (CWY) predictions of field results. Correlation of relative yields from field results and the CWY simulation were good, showing that the CWY has potential to be used as a management tool to screen potential irrigation scheduling scenarios for deficit irrigation.
