Info on corn row spacing - considering an experiment

[SD51555]

Your original question is a big one. I have one to consider before you decide. "What kind of corn do you want to grow?" I don't know if it matters, but how many times have we seen those silly pictures of a small deer trying to gum a 300 bushel ear of corn? Maybe the smaller 6" cobs are easier to eat? Just something to think about. I don't know the answer one way or the other. It's a matter of getting the regular burger or the little burger at Five Guys.

On yield, I'd take pioneer advice with a grain of salt. I've seen conventional outperform hybrids a handful of times. Also, at a point, more seed won't deliver more yield. My brother was telling me about some population trials where farmers were dialing back their rates below 30,000 and farting around with row width and producing equivalent or better yields with lower populations. I wish I had it for reference, but this is second hand knowledge. I'd say go middle to lower end of the pop per acre and spend your money on a soil sample and some NPK, lime, sulfur etc if you can get it into the root zone. (Even though soil utopia/lower pop may produce fewer but much larger cobs)

 

[tooln]

Nice looking rigs guys. It really something what you can do with an ATV when you put your mind to it.

 

[Freeborn]

Last year was my first year using the planter and I did have problems calculated my seed population. I am using narrow rows (17”) as I am trying to provide a more even planting over the soil so I get a canopy to help maintain moisture on my sandy soil. Last year we had good rain but prior to that we had dry conditions for several years.

I don’t know exactly what my seed rate was last year but I would guess over 50000 seed per acre. I ended up with small earns as the over-population stunted ear growth. This result even after I applied Urea on 3 different occasions in an attempt to offset the overpopulation. I did end with allot of corn and the deer used it heavily but I know I hurt my yield and next year I need to figure out what gear and seed plate combination to use.

I agree with Mo, focus on soil health and a recommended seed rate. After some trial and error you can adjust if you want.

Here are a couple pictures of my corn. Keep in mind the picture of me and the dogs that I’m about 6’8” tall.

 

[j-bird]

I plant the same seed the cash renter plants on my place most years. as far as ear size is concerned my deer will wrestle with the larger ears if needed - I have seen them pull it off the stalk, drop it on the ground and them stomp it to get the pieces off. Give a kid a big candy bar and they will eat it - it may get messy, but they will find a way. I may go a little heavier on my population count, but it doesn't sound like a 15 or 24 inch row is in my future. I just knew some of you guys did more production type farming and may have a better read than I. When it comes down to it - I just plant corn and am just trying to get the most I can off my limited plotting acres with as minimal cost inputs as I can. That was part of the reason I switched to beans, but just something about corn that keeps me coming back. Thanks for the help.

 

[Freeborn]

You can plant the same seed, but you need to know if it is a flex ear type corn that works well at lower populations on sand or sandy loam soil, or if it is a fixed ear type corn that requires higher populations to seek optimal yield. Fixed ear corn is mainly planted on heavy soils. Just using the same seed means nothing if you don't know the plant characteristics. JMO

Also for you guys that have old plate style planters and don't care what corn seed you plant, follow this guideline. A general rule of thumb for planting food plots is, for 36" corn rows have a kernel every 6", 30" rows every 5", 18" rows a kernel every 12", 15" rows a kernel every 10". These are aprox spacing that will work in most areas up here in MN for food plots, and will get you roughly 25K-30K seeds per acre. Good Luck!

John, thanks for the good information. Damn, I thought I had my planter all figured out until I got about half my field planted and had a "Oh Shit" moment.:eek: Next year my seed count may not be exact but it will be better than last year.

That's awesome looking corn Jerry! Who knew a Bloomington man could pull that off :D Is that pivot yours? Your cheating with irrigation. lol

I joked with my neighbor about the pivot and he told me he charges $200 an hour for water. I passed.

These small planters are the ticket for getting the max yield from a field and are almost idiot proof. In the past I had tried to broadcast several acres of corn or beans and that method did not get me the yield I wanted. For small plots brodcasting works but the planter enables you to maximize your yield and once you get use to using it is very simple.

 

[younggun1849]

You guys who posted up pictures of your small ATV planters, where did you get them? Or did you jimmy-rig them yourselves? Looks pretty slick, I have a lot of places I can't get a tractor that could benefit from one of those!

 

[Freeborn]

You guys who posted up pictures of your small ATV planters, where did you get them? Or did you jimmy-rig them yourselves? Looks pretty slick, I have a lot of places I can't get a tractor that could benefit from one of those!

Watch Craigs list in the spring. Make certain you check several cities as allot of guys are selling them.

Here is a guy selling them.

http://rdhoutdoors.com/

 

[Dave63]

You guys who posted up pictures of your small ATV planters, where did you get them? Or did you jimmy-rig them yourselves? Looks pretty slick, I have a lot of places I can't get a tractor that could benefit from one of those!

Made it myself..

 

[Dave63]

This is where I got mine. A friend drove past his place like once a month and bought one for me (love that barter system). I was told Rodney is a super nice guy.

www.rodsfoodplotplanter.com

Rodney is a crook. I bought a corn planter from him. He charged me twice the cost of shipping. How do I know. Each package was labeled with the cost of shipping. He sent them via USPS. When I called him about it he said he would send a check for the overcharge. A month later nothing so I called him again. He told me to go fu$$$ myself and hung up..

 

[Dave63]

I stand corrected! Sorry to read that Dave

No problem. The planter was in very good shape and I was happy with it..But to pull what he did was totally unethical.

 

[Dave63]

I was told Rodney is a super nice guy.-MNFISH

Rodney is a crook.-Dave63

So which is it you guys?

How much was the shipping? I can ship a 2,000lb pallet for less than $100 dam near anywhere.

Planter was 400. He charged 116 for shipping 3 packages. package 1) 16.00 package 2) 19.00 package 3) 23.00 total 58.00