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WC MN | Even "up north" we are rarely seeing much difference now in narrow corn and 30" corn. Year to year the advantage changes between the two. A 10 year running tally would put the 20" over the 30". Now is it more "practical"?
I assume a few things when the general comparisons are made.
1. 20" corn allows a higher population, therefore more ears. Most SxS were done with 30" at the standard 28-32k and the 20" was done at 32-36k. What if the 30's pop was just bumped up?
2. Canopy gives better weed control. I call this one out. Some of the narrow corn here is "dirty" as ever. I still don't think a 1 post pass cuts it in narrow corn . Here you need a decent pre down with a post if you want clean corn or break out the iron. So that point is moot. I do one pre pass and one post pass and the 30" corn is clean as a whistle. The 30" corn canopied a whopping 4 days later than the 20" corn down the road this year.
3. 20" corn gives a better stand because meters are revolving slowly. In my limited experience, seed depth and emergence consistency far outweighs any spacing inaccuracy. Any seed that came up about 2 days or later had stunted ears, tip back and spindly stalks this year. Granted doubles and skips aren't helping yield and need to be consistent across all populations and row widths. I had one field this spring that had a gully washer and filled in the seed furrow. The plant to plant variability in ear size due to emergance timing was nothing short of amazing. Nothing like seeing an 18x36 next to a 12x24 that's been tipped back.
Keep in mind that when comparisons are made, a farmer will take out his existing USED 30" planter and compare the yield to the NEW 20" planter the dealer brings out for trial. If the existing 30" planter is not maintained properly, I could probably guarantee a sub par stand. If you have a brand new planter, I cannot guarantee a good stand but the likeliness of it being better are higher. I run my meters on a test stand every two years. Check your openers and closing wheels. My 30 year old planter can still throw the picket fence so there is no mechanical excuse for a poor stand of corn.
"Here" the 15" corn actually burned up LONG before the 30" corn did this year. But, I plant at 32.5k and the 15" was planted at 38k. They are looking for silage yields. Narrow corn here always makes a taller/larger plant. Taller planters are prone to higher ear placement. Higher ear placement is more prone to lodging. Last year narrow corn greensapped much worse than the 30" and the twin rows actually fared VERY well. So environment is key. Heavy soils with ample moisture and heat tend to favor wide rows.
Beans on the other hand show a consistent response to 20" rows. Some years it's .5 bpa, some years 4 bpa. I actually thought about having my beans custom planted and sprayed but by the time I do that, all I really save is time. Landlords frown upon tenants who have custom work done for them because they aren't "real farmers". I get picked on quite a bit because I have the majority of my harvest hired out.
For corn, unless it's "tough" ground up north here, it's hard to justify narrow corn. Beans on the other hand, pretty easy call. IF I had greater than 1500 acres, I would likely make the switch to narrow rows.
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20 Inch rows on corn and beans
