Summary

Research-based guide to scheduling soybean irrigation in Tennessee. Explains how irrigation decisions depend on growth stage, crop water-use rates, soil water-holding capacity, and rainfall patterns. Recommends a managed depletion irrigation (MDI) strategy that lets soil water drop to a “safe” level to leave room for rainfall, then replaces water at roughly the crop’s use rate. Provides timing guidance for key stages, pivot application amounts to reduce runoff, when to stop irrigating, and how to use water-balance tools and soil moisture sensors.