Central Alberta | wild&crazyguy - 6/8/2023 12:49
I've been looking at some studies recently, and at least for corn there don't appear to be much difference in yield over a range from 1.5" - 3" (that's a big range!). Outside of that they reported some decreases in yield (larger decreases with too shallow depth).
How much you guys care about getting your seeds at the "right" depth?
One year, we were one of the few in the area to have our crops emerge. It was one of the dryest springs on record.
We did it by disking up moisture ahead of the seeder and then triple-packing the soil just after it.
Planting depth is not a universal number. The best you can do is to anticipate where the moisture will be, and plant as shallow as possible while still hitting the moisture. Shallower planted crops emerge sooner, have less seedling diseases and yield better. Packing after planting reduces the airspaces in the soil and helps bring moisture up from below.
Every other good agrologist I know says the same thing. |
How much to stress over planting depth?
