EC IA | MattNWOH - 10/27/2024 00:19
What is the history on this field in past years? Full tillage? No till? Cover crops seem to be a long term deal
We are long term no till and had some best ever field averages on no till corn with 15” row planted cereal rye. 10 gal 10-34-0, 2 gal ATS and 8 gal 28%N 2x2 with the planter. 55 gal 28%N sidedressed as soon as you can see the rows to drive down, V3-V4.
Still we are switching more to wheat CC before corn just to make it a little simpler on N demand. Bin run wheat is dirt cheap too.
If you can stomach it I would keep hitting those areas with cover crops and tweak your nitrogen management to see what happens.
Planting a month after termination is a long gap. I think most would recommend planting green or killing it just before planting. Was your stand the same as the non rye corn? Did you have insect feeding? I worry about critters looking for something green to eat moving from rye to corn.
Anyone have any opinions on corn seeded into “broadcast” or regrow rye like OP or the planted in rows? In 15” rows maybe I’m getting more sunlight to the ground to warm/dry spring soil?
Were planting conditions the same between the rye stubble vs the other corn? If the ground wasn’t as fit to plant as the non rye you might’ve suffered from some sidewall compaction. I think comparisons like these in field trials are tough when you’re forcing the same planting date. Not all scenarios are fit to plant at the same time. Like if you compare tillage to no till plots…the no till probably needed more time to dry out.
Sorry for the wall of text. Late night stream of jibber jabber.
Long-term no-till, with rye in front of beans for several years and some part of the field having rye ahead of corn for the past 2 corn years. The stand this year wasn't ideal, but it wasn't significantly different than outside of the rye. Did find some seed corn maggot, but not sure of the extent. May have played a role, but gut feel is that it wasn't enough to be the only factor. We saw the same yield loss 2 years ago in this same field where we planted green. We chalked it up to not having N&S with the planter, along with later termination. Having corrected those issues this year, it seems like we're still missing the mark. We are going to try wheat on a few acres ahead of corn next year to compare.
Where we had rye in front of corn on a different field last year, we added an additional 30lb of N and only saw 8 bu/ac loss. But still... is it really doing anything for conservation if I have to apply more nitrogen, run 2 more passes across the field to plant and terminate, use additional chemical for burndown, and the end result is that I'm growing less organic matter by taking the hit in corn yield? Seems like erosion control is the only real benefit we're getting - maybe enough to make it worth the hassle in front of beans, but not worth the risk in corn at this point. |
Corn After Cereal Rye - This Year's Experience
