Narrow row corn

[smstonypoint]

Based on my windshield surveys of this year's corn crop, narrow row planting is dominating in my area (western Iredell County, NC). My surveys are of a limited scope, with the most of the land being owned or leased by a few large-scale farmers.

Are you seeing much of a switch to narrow rows in your area?

Steve

 

[bigtiller]

I haven't seen any around here. I see more and more 36 row planters though. 90 foot per pass, Wow!

 

[Wood_Butcher_Dav]

Typical row spacing for corn is 30", some planters are setup at 20", most of the corn heads for harvesters are set for 30 " rows as well. Some planters have Twin Rows which the pair are 7.5" set on 30", and split rows which are based on 15" spacing and used for soybeans and every other row for corn.

Dave

 

[sixdogs]

Based on my windshield surveys of this year's corn crop, narrow row planting is dominating in my area (western Iredell County, NC). My surveys are of a limited scope, with the most of the land being owned or leased by a few large-scale farmers.

Are you seeing much of a switch to narrow rows in your area?

Steve

30" rows are the norm around here on the rich black Kokomo topsoil. There was a stampede to narrow 20" rows for corn a number of years back but the results and yields were not as expected and today you rarely see a narrow row. It's all 30" corn and 15" beans.

 

[MossRoad]

Based on my windshield surveys of this year's corn crop, narrow row planting is dominating in my area (western Iredell County, NC). My surveys are of a limited scope, with the most of the land being owned or leased by a few large-scale farmers.

Are you seeing much of a switch to narrow rows in your area?

Steve

The corn just came up about a week ago around here. Looks the same to me, but I've never measured. I'll take a closer look. Interesting.

 

[smstonypoint]

The corn just came up about a week ago around here. Looks the same to me, but I've never measured. I'll take a closer look. Interesting.

I saw the first tassels of this year's corn crop today.

Steve

 

[Creamer]

Just got back a week ago from a long drive and never saw any narrow row corn. 30" was all I saw. We came through Montana, the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois. I do know of one dairy farmer close to me that is trying narrow rows for silage corn (15") but he is also planting 48,000 population (per acre) which is extremely high even for around here. He does have water on it.

 

[LD1]

At one time, 30" was considered narrow.

The farmer that farms around me does beans at 7.5" spacing with his drill.

Heard of others that broadcast and cultipack also

 

[Creamer]

At one time, 30" was considered narrow.

The farmer that farms around me does beans at 7.5" spacing with his drill.

Heard of others that broadcast and cultipack also

yeah but the old 36 and 40" rows are long gone as are less than five figure plant populations.

 

[GGB]

My nephew planted a 15" row test plot, so we'll know more after harvest. From what I've read, there may be two advantages. First, a wider canopy should reduce weed germination; second, the canopy should reduce soil temperatures which will conserve moisture.

I asked him how he was planning to harvest the 15" rows, given that our corn head is 30"! He tells me he'll figure something out........stay tuned.

 

[MossRoad]

I saw the first tassels of this year's corn crop today.

Steve

Wow!

I started to look Thursday after I dropped my wife off after lunch.... most of the corn fields have no-till beans! :laughing: It was planted between the old corn rows. Many had seed corn last year. The most seed corn I'd ever seen around here. I finally found some corn fields and they look to be normal width. Corn is about knee high now here.

 

[sixdogs]

This has been a bad year here with lots of rain at the wrong time and then 90 degree heat that baked the clay ground into an impenetrable crust. So corn has been replanted two or even three times and beans have been planted and then planted over again trying to get a reasonable yield.

As a result, the 15" bean rows are 15" in a few places, 7 1/2" in others and where guys got confused there are some 3" rows. It's really a mess this year.

 

[tcreeley]

Corn in my area of Maine is just up so that you can tell what it is by the rows. I still haven't planted our sweet corn in the garden yet- have to bio mulch first. The late frosts have given me an extra month to play with! Have had a lot of rain. I plant two close rows on a zig zag. Then over 4' and another zig zag double row. Usually I do 5 of these - 40' long. I uses a stand and plant and pop them in below the bio plastic that stops the weeds.
Works well - get a good bunch and freeze what we don't eat, either on the cob, or cut kernels off.