Growing corn in wide rows

[Anonymous-0]

I plant a few acres of corn every year for my stock and harvest the ears, either with a NI 323 picker or my 1PR. I'm still planting in 36 in rows. I spray once with 2,4-D for the broad leaves and cultivate a couple of times with either my H or my F14. I store the corn in a crib and shell it when I need it. Anybody else growing corn like this? Its certainly not the practice that will get you 150 bu to the acre but it does let me play with a lot of toys.

 

[georgeky]

I grow about 150 acres in 38 inch rows. I have gotten 150 bushels before like this, but usually around 120-135. I do this because my 2 row picker is a 38 inch wide head. I also cultivate. I cut some for silage and pick some to grind cob and all for the cows. Feed it right on the cob for the hogs. What I don't need I sell to neighbors on the cob.

 

[Dean in iowa]

There is nothing wrong with growing corn like this. I plant in 38 inch rows. broadcast the P and K and band the N along side the row (about 4 inches away) with the planter. Had the weigh wagon check several fields this fall. All made 187 to 190 bushels.

 

[NEIADan]

All I can say is WOW. Wish I could get weed control that cheaply. As far as wide rows many years of yield records have been in 36 inch rows. We still raise corn in wide rows since our operation is primarily forage based and the compatibility of hay making and narrow tire tread widths just doesn't work. We utilized round up corn on all our acres this past year. Our cattle feeding operation produces a good amount of that natural fertilizer. The only commercial fertilizer that was applied was 125# actual 28% N. This corn yielded from 217 to 245 bu/acre. Your yields can be increased to match any 30" rows within your perspective ares. What really counts is your cost of production versus your net sales. Your investment in equipment and technology is nill versus the operation that is buying triple stack hybrids with outrageous tech fees and putting a half million dollars of equipment in the field. You should get a premium for your corn and should make as good a money per acre as any larger operation.

 

[Anonymous-0]

In 2006 we grew over 500 acres of corn with a 4R36 planter, nothing wrong with growing it that way except it was getting to take too long to plant and harvest and hard to find anybody with a 4R combine here so we went 6R30 for 2007.

 

[paul]

38 inch rows, aim for 150-175 bu yields. Can push over 200 in 'select' spots. Works fine. NI picker & Gleaner combine work pretty hard.

Think about changing to 30 inch rows, but since I found a cheap 15 inch bean planter bar, think I'll stay with what works.

I put some grass killer in with the boradleaf killer.

--->Paul

 

[GeneMO]

Row width in corn is not as critical as in soybeans. Sounds like you are having more fun than trying to make a living, so do what you have fun at. 2-4D was all they used to use before Monsanto and Ciba Geigy convince us that we all needed to go broke to make sure they got rich. Only thing is with 2-4D, you can't spray too late or you will deform and stunt the plant. Cant remember, maybe not past 10 leaf stage. consult your extension agronomist for exact stage.


Have fun, Gene

 

[kyhayman]

One of the biggest messes I ever made was a few years ago when I 'got modern' and got a 30 inch row planter as opposed to my old 38 inch row one. Problem was, all the guys around here have 2 row 38 inch pickers and choppers. Ended up chopping almost 50 acres with a one row chopper, cost me almost double.

As to weed control, I dont want to cultivate anything. Used to use Bicep II tank mixed with Roundup preplant and then notil the corn. Now mostly use RR corn following a chisel plow and disc since we are double cropping corn behind silage small grains.

 

[Hugh MacKay]

Charlie: Nothing wrong with wide rows. My experience going from 36" to 30", cobs got shorter but the yields remained the same with similar crop care and fertility.

 

[rrlund]

Not really. I'm growing 30 inch. Pick with a 325 two row. Chop about a third for silage. Growing all RR and spraying a half rate of Prowl pre emerge.Go back with a pint of Roundup just before canopy to clean up escapes.

 

[RonP]

I grow a few acres of corn in 36 inch rows, mainly for wildlife. In March I spread two or three tons per acre of chicken manure and work that in. I use an old two row JD planter with fertilizer hoppers and put down about 100 lb of 10-10-10 per acre as I plant. I've been getting surplus seeds from the local Southern States dealer - He sometimes gives me broken bags or extra experimental seed he's been given to try. Twenty five or thirty pounds of seed goes a long way for me. The last few years he gave me RR seeds. The hard part is picking the right seed plate for the size seed - planting too thick really cuts down on the yield for me. I spray with Bicep II after planting. This year I cultivated once when the corn was about a foot tall (after spreading about 50 lb of ammonium nitrate per acre), and I sprayed once with 2,4-D when the corn was a little taller. I've been thinking about not cultivating and just using chemicals (RoundUp and 2,4-D). I think by cultivating I'm destroying the effectiveness of the Bicep II and getting a flush of weeds/grass after cultivating. The chicken manure has a lot of weed seeds in it, and it's hard to control the weeds throughout the growing season. But, I really like to cultivate, so I don't know what I'll do.

 

[PreciseFarms]

We use Atrazine as a pre-emerge in a RR corn system. It works very well and is very economical. This is in a 30" system and we generally have very clean corn in the fall. This is also no-till. You may want to consider no-till or minimum-till as weed seeds have very little chance to work themselves to the top. As you said cultivating accomplishes this very well. Here in the south this is a very good way to get a good crop of cocklebur. I know you want to play but avoid cultivating like the plague. Fuel is too high, you lose weed control, and when you think about it, it can"t help your roots when those sweeps go tearing through there. If you go no-till and you don"t cut ruts in the fall, you can get by with never tilling again. We have a field that has been continuous no-till since 1979 and there is no difference between it and other fields that we have had to work up. But like you said you like to play so maybe you can find a happy medium. What will you get more satisfaction from, a better crop or more time on the tractor? Just my opinion.

 

[RonP]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look at Atrazine for this spring and stop the cultivating.

 

[SuperHank]

I'm going to plant 30 acres of the poorest sand in south Ga this spring. I would appreciate your advice on how to mix and apply preemergant. Do you spray and harrow it in or just spray. My target is sandspur. I will be planting RR corn for feeding cows and for wildlife. Thanks

 

[JMS MN]

Depends in what you apply pre-emergent. Read the LABEL. Some are meant to be tilled in- others not! People who mis-apply just ruin it for those of us who follow the rules- whether we farm a few acres or thousands! I"m a full-time farmer, farming hundreds, following the rules..........

 

[LA in Wi.]

Hugh, You get 10 extra points for why corn was grown in 38-40" rows way back when. LA

 

[Hugh MacKay]

Lowell: As I see it 30" rows became a value added way to grow corn, yes added value and reduced profits. Assuming the yield will be the same, which it generally is, 36", 4 row planter or corn head will be 1.2 times as productive as 30", 4 row planter or corn head. The figures are no different with 6 or 8 row equipment. The 36" row equipment is much easier to work on doing maintainence.

Couple that with the fact we're now running big tractors on 60" wheel tread as opposed to 72" wheel tread, far more dangerous than narrow front ends ever were.

In my opinion the only scientific evidence behind, moving from 36" rows to 30" rows was another round of new equipment sales by manufacturers. They are up to it again now, pushing 20" rows. We have been truly blessed with folks having the brain power to figure that out.

I also see a lot more unshelled cobs on ground after narrow row harvest.

 

[Tim(nj)]

Narrowest row a horse could fit through while pulling a cultivator

 

[TWJanak]

What about more even plant distribution in the field which equals earlier canopy closure and less weed competition earlier in the season. A lot of guys on the gulf coast still use 38" beds because they need the beds due to the flat terrain. If you can farm flat 30" is very common and there is some 20".