Background: Water scarcity is a primary constraint on global agricultural production, necessitating the transition from traditional irrigation methods to water-efficient technologies. Maize is a highly water-demanding cereal crop, making irrigation management critical for sustainable yield optimization.

Objective: This study aims to compare the agronomic performance and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize under drip irrigation and conventional furrow irrigation systems.

Method: A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was utilized. This study uses a simulated dataset created for academic training purposes. The simulated data encompassed grain yield, biomass, water applied, and WUE across two irrigation treatments over a single growing season. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in SPSS.

Key Results: The drip irrigation system significantly reduced total water applied by 35% compared to furrow irrigation. Maize under drip irrigation yielded 9.2 tons per hectare, representing a 22% increase over the furrow irrigation yield (7.5 tons per hectare). Consequently, WUE was substantially higher in the drip treatment (2.45 kg/m³) than in the furrow treatment (1.36 kg/m³).