Dwarf Corn

[Charles Clear]

Has anyone tried what a few seed companies are calling dwarf corn? It's supposed to stay about 3-4 foot tall and have ears that are lower to the ground. I may give it a shot next year. My RR corn I planted this year was 10-12 foot tall with ears off of the ground about 5-6 feet. Any thoughts? thanks!

 

[bbcoach]

Does dwarf corn equal dwarf ears? Personally I'd stick with RR regular corn. RR means you have the ability to control weeds and grasses with glyphosate, the dwarf corn probably isn't RR and unless you plant it real close together it isn't going to shade the ground as well as the taller corn does. Deer utilize the taller corn for travel and bedding along with a food source. 5-6 feet above the ground isn't a problem for deer to get to the ears. Coons and bear will help knock down ears as well. When the ears dry they fall over and dangle down which makes them even easier to get to. Besides as the corn dries and the snow flies those 10-12 foot stalks fall down to the 4-5 foot level. IMO if your growing a quality crop of corn why change to something that may not give you what you already have. My 2 cents.

 

[JFK52]

I always plant RR corn. No matter how tall the corn gets, when fall comes and it turns brown the overall height declines. My goal with corn is to produce an over winter food supply so I want the most and biggest ears possible. I have seen deer use the corn field as a travel corridor. The height of the corn must make them feel secure walking through it.
Years ago I used to still hunt my corn field after the opening weekend of gun deer season. I was able to take a bedded doe while I was quietly walking through the rows. I found it best to do this on a day with the wind into my face. It kept the deer from smelling you and their was a rustling of the stalks sound to override the inevitable noise of walking through the rows. I walked one row at a time, looked up and down that row and went on the next row. Divide up the field and make two or more passes through it. If possible, use the topography of the field as small rises or hills to your advantage.

 

[buckdeer1]

We can't use RR corn unless you use a pre emergent as most of our problem weeds are gly resistant so we have use liberty link seed

 

[j-bird]

I looked into this pretty good before and what I saw was the seed is just as expensive, and the ears are much smaller. I liked the idea of the shorter corn to be able to see the deer in it better, but I didn't want to give up the grain production due to smaller ears. I have plenty of food, but if I'm planting corn I don;t want to get 1/2 the amount of grain vs standard height corn. I also wasn't going to pay the same amount for the seed. The corn I looked at was targeted for flooded duck ponds and upland game birds as the ears are also lower to the ground as well. Also if you have significant snowfall - you want to corn above the snow line.

You can also look into the various traits of the corn you are planting as well to get shorter corn vs 12 feet tall and bring some of the ears down in better reach as well. Corn is one of the most engineered plants on the planet......you want it purple...I'm sure if your willing to pay for it, they will find a way to make it purple!

For deer - I'm sticking with just basic RR corn. We have some RR resistant weeds, but I can control those with a broadleaf specific chemical as well.

 

[roymunson]

We picked our corn primarily because the brand we got holds ears higher. no need for these guys to pick em clean before I'm ready to hunt it