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36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn
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farmdude
Posted 10/14/2011 09:28 (#2003904)
Subject: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Has anybody done any yield results on different row spacings for corn.? I was just curious if any row spacing has a yield advantage over the other. In other word does 20 inch corn out yield 30 or 36 inch corn. Thanks guys
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farmdude
Posted 10/14/2011 12:00 (#2004065 - in reply to #2003904)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Anybody have 20 inch row spacing for corn? Did you like this compared to wider rows? Just trying to get some input on this. Thanks
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HilltopGrain
Posted 10/14/2011 12:07 (#2004074 - in reply to #2004065)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


WI
We don't plant 20" rows but if you look at the big picture you will be able to get more plants per acre with a narrower row, along with that you need to address the fertilizer demand and make sure you are making adjustments for the higher population. I do not know the exact numbers for the difference of population on 20" vs 30" im sure someone will chime in with detailed answers.
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Gerald J.
Posted 10/14/2011 14:13 (#2004158 - in reply to #2003904)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn



A 70s vintage ISU extension bulletin I have titled "Profitable Corn Production," says 30 beats 36 or 38 consistently.

On this forum do a search for corn population vs rows. I've not detected a consensus on corn row widths. 20s and 22s tend to be hard to get through for side dressing and spraying but seem to be preferred in regions where beets are in the rotation to save on changing tractor widths and owning separate planters for the two crops. Some have converted from 20 back to 30 after a long time with the narrower rows, others that have compared tend to find advantages either way depending on the corn number and the year. I'm not sure those comparisons have been well replicated to take out local soil condition and weather effects besides corn number sensitivities. I suspect there are corn breeds that thrive in 20" rows and don't do as well in 30" rows and there are corn numbers that do just the opposite. A couple years ago I looked up ISU research on fertilizer rates for corn and found theses in the library that compared big jumps on N applications but never mentioned the corn variety which makes those studies useless in my book.

If the limit on corn yield is plants too close where a high population is needed for that yield, it would appear 30" rows would a limiting factor and 20" rows should be beneficial. I've seen such narrow rows near where I now live, but I haven't learned anything about their yield. They are in an ancient lake basin and have lots of composted turkey manure applied each spring. If plant to plant competition is a limit, then even narrower rows or seed put down in a hexagonal pattern with the seed in the center of a circle of area equal to 43560 / population should be best. It might be, and the differences may be too small to consistently measure and its almost sure to depend on the soil, its fertility, the weather, and the corn number.

In 2007 in 30" rows I planted three numbers at 34K population but with limited N. Two of the numbers were small areas because I ran out the preferred seed. One looked OK, the last one grew pop can ears, shart and half filled. Yet the overall yield was 173.2 bushel corn on 111 units of N (after poor beans) that was split applied.

Gerald J.
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mcupps
Posted 10/14/2011 15:23 (#2004199 - in reply to #2003904)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Downtown Shell Knob MO Come Visit!
Did a little study this year. Twin row corn planted at 42k made 2bu per acre, 20 inch corn planted at 38k made 2bu per acre. 36inch corn planted at 20k made 14bu per acre. 30inch corn planted at 29k was inbetween but closer to 2 than 14. I don't recall but I think it was inbetween 4 and 5
All row widths had 2 ton of poultry manure, 60 pounds of dry N at planting half urea half AN, and sidedressed with 120 pounds of UAN. with Allis Chalmbers G tractor at V4. ( And incase you were wondering the Allis G had no problems going down the 20inch and twin row corn :) )
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BobinIL
Posted 10/14/2011 16:55 (#2004262 - in reply to #2004065)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn



Danville, Illinois
One thing I have noticed just driving around is the 20" and 15" row spacing corn fields have had poorer standability this year.

Edited by BobinIL 10/14/2011 16:55
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Mark (EC,IN)
Posted 10/14/2011 19:27 (#2004351 - in reply to #2004199)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn



Schlegel Farms, Hagerstown Indiana
I'm feeling real short...........that went over my head (LoL)

Twin row corn planted at 42k made 2bu per acre......????. Is that 2 bu more than something else, or just 2 bu/acre or what?

If that is just what it made..........I hope you have good crop ins (LoL).

.......................Mark

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7150
Posted 10/14/2011 22:06 (#2004581 - in reply to #2004199)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn



Lol Lol

I like your "on-farm practical research". I'm afraid I don't trust much of what the universities tell us anymore. I don't know who funded their projects. But I know who funds my research.
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IHboog
Posted 10/14/2011 22:45 (#2004647 - in reply to #2004065)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


WCIN
This is our 3rd year of 20" rows, and take it for what it is worth, but we have a new 30" planter sitting in the shed.
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rank
Posted 10/14/2011 23:38 (#2004735 - in reply to #2004581)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


SEON
7150 - 10/14/2011 22:06 I don't know who funded their projects. But I know who funds my research.

now that's funny.
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mcupps
Posted 10/15/2011 00:27 (#2004799 - in reply to #2004351)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Downtown Shell Knob MO Come Visit!
It tended to be a bad year around here. Im currently shelling some corn that got a popup shower on it that will make 70bu. But our average will be well under 20. Very humbling experience. Until this year I would have told anyone that its basically impossiable to grow under 50bu corn and a guy has to be trying real hard to grow under 100bu corn, I try to do a good job sometimes and have a COC field with an APH above 150 that made under 10bu(aph was closer to 200 until 09 and 10) . It tends to be getting rougher by the year. June is our wettested month. This will be our third hot dry June in a row. Of course this year with all the replant and sidedressing we only had $400 an acre worth of seed/chemical/fertilizer . I live in Barry County but farm a lot in Stone County. Look up Federal Crop Insurance for Stone County MO. and see what comes back.
And before someone asks, We were going to chop some for silage with all the cattle needed fed, but nitrates in the 8-10 to 12K ppm still would be considered way unsafe after the 60-70 percent reduction from the ensiling process. Plus a lot of it wouldn't have made much more than 3 ton, and at that time we still thought we had potential for some 30bu corn.
We just brushogged the variety test plot we had in Exeter Mo, So I can't give any numbers on that one, but I can say out of 16 varietys they all were under 1bu per acre, so I guess there was no statistical difference. Maybe I should come up with my own observations such as: I could say that that the convential corn did just as well as the trated corn, or that the SmartStax didn't have any yield drag. :) There are all sorts of correct answers :)

Edited by mcupps 10/15/2011 00:31
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mcupps
Posted 10/15/2011 00:47 (#2004814 - in reply to #2004799)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Downtown Shell Knob MO Come Visit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4uGx059VEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tstoe4PpqB8&feature=related
Here are a couple videos my brother put on youtube a couple years ago. Hes long winded with his titles so forgive him.
The massey is in 08, the Gleaner is in 09.Both fields averaged around 160 in the videos.
The field the Gleaner was in went over 200 in 07 and 08, The field the massey was in got some rain in 09 and made over 180.
The field the massey was in was in beans last year. The field the Gleaner was in has been COC for 5 years now.
Both fields average under 20bu this year. The field the massey was in is in Stone county, so no insurance yet. Maybe next year ehh.
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FarmerMB
Posted 10/15/2011 02:33 (#2004839 - in reply to #2004735)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Manitoba
Pioneers research will tell you that row spacing is very variable depending on how far north or south you are. The further south the wider row spacings tend to do well, only giving up a small yield penalty to 30" rows. As you move north the wider rows really start to lose yield. Twenty and twenty two inch rows really only seem to have a yield advantage in the northern corn belt and it's pretty insignificant when you consider the extra costs of running on the narrower rows. Their research also shows that twin row corn has absolutly no yield advantage at any given population proving that spacing out the plants and upping the population just doesn't work. It's got to be good info when a company who sells seed is saying that high pops and better spacing doesn't pay when it would be advantageous for them if it did. Almost all of the research was done in conjuction with Colleges all across the corn belt.
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farmdude
Posted 10/15/2011 03:15 (#2004846 - in reply to #2004647)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


Thanks guys for the great input
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69roadrunner
Posted 10/15/2011 06:09 (#2004881 - in reply to #2004839)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


North of Iowa
It is hard to get side by side results, after spending that kind of money I'm not sure I would want to know I got no increase in yield. LOL I think a lot of the time, at the same time they switch to 20's they also up pop and adding more fert and then get better yields thinking it has to be the switch in row width. I know Dekalb did a study on 20 vs 30 in 2009, for Mn. the 20's yielded less not the way it suppose to work.
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woodchuck
Posted 10/15/2011 07:42 (#2004951 - in reply to #2003904)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn


East central Iowa
I always am interested in row width conversations because I'm still on 38" rows. These are my observations over the last 2 yrs since buying out my dads operation. I only farm 230 acres of row crops on hills and small fields. Average CSR is 62 and most has been no-till for 35 to 40 years.
I plant 32,500 pop on corn and apply crop removal P&K with 30lbs of N as dry with planter. NH3 applied in spring preplant. This year total avg. for all acres of corn was 197 bu. Some 3rd year COC across scale went 235bu. Some COB stubble went hit 260 in some areas. I plant beans no-till into corn ground at 144,000 pop. on 38" rows. My 3 yr avg. is 68 bu. and have had fields last two years go up to 84 and 88bu./acre. I would like to change to 30" rows, but on my hills I know that will get hairy if not running duals. I think I have areas that could be improved in getting the most out
of each acre and that may be 30" rows but I owe nothing on my equipt. Back to yeilds, I have been right with all the local guys who have 30" and 20" rows, The big advantage I see is early canopy to control weeds. These are just my opinions and observations nothing else.
DAVE
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earp
Posted 10/15/2011 22:10 (#2005595 - in reply to #2004951)
Subject: Re: 36vs 30 vs 20 inch row spacing corn



Manila, Ar
i concure with woodchuck..............only advantage to narrow rows is the quicker canopy...............twin rows are pretty popular here on the 38 inch............but the planting equipment is pretty pricey vs single 38 inch.................:O)............I really think whatever spacing you have is better than changing..............and alot cheaper......:)
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