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Ontario | Planted my first twin row corn this year. Was on plowed/cultivated ground following wheat with NPK broadcast but no starter. SW Ontario. Planted April 25-29. It was very cold at that time and there was certainly some cold emergence issues. That combined with a pop chart error on the unit resulted in populations in the 27-30k range rather than intended 32-34k. This year that may well have been a good thing. I was not sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised with the result.
Was warned combining may be difficult but I found the twin actually combined as well as single row and with less cob loss due to the wider wall of material coming in. I would say it was good to match planter/header width so it was always on center.
Where corn was doubled up or broken down it was a bit tougher to see the row than regular down corn.
We had about a month of no rain but were very lucky to catch two timely rains.
Best twin field ran 207bu dry. Worst field was 193. I did not have a twin/30 side by side unfortunately.
Best indirect comparison I have is with the farm that was planted on same day with a Kinze 30" single and 165lb dry 2x2 starter. Best area of that farm with starter but same P9910XR variety was 18-20bu less than best area of twins (approx 220's vs 240's on monitor). Not a good comparison but rather an observation. The twins seemed to be more consistent and have bigger cobs.
Here's the final kicker, the twins were planted with a Great Plains 1510P Precision DRILL with Keetons and V closing wheels. Plants wheat, beans, corn etc. on 7.5" row spacing with a singulation meter on each row. It had some quirks to figure out at first and I was concerned with its ability at depth control but with the results I think it did great.
Have added liquid starter to the drill now and for next year would like to find a way to add dry starter between the twin rows and half section shutoff clutches. Variable rate would be great as well. | |
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twin row corn observation and ?
