Yield Response to Plant Populations in Corn

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Posted 9/26/2023. @purduecornguy
The cost of seed corn represents 17% of farmers' variable cost of production, second only to the cost of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. Every thousand seeds planted per acre that does not increase grain yield represents $3 to $4 per acre of lost profit for the farmer. Grain yield response of commercial dent corn to plant density (number of plants per acre or "population") is typically not linear. More commonly the response takes the form of a quadratic or quadratic plateau function. As population increases, the magnitude of the yield response decreases until ultimately yield response ceases or even decreases due to the stress imposed on the plants. The "balancing act" of determining the "optimum" plant population is not just about maximizing grain yield, but also about avoiding unnecessary seed expenses as yield response to population decreases.
Dr Jim Camberato and I began conducting field scale research trials in 2008 to evaluate corn responses to plant population. Over 16 years, we accumulated nearly 100 datasets from different geographic regions and growing conditions throughout the state. Questions addressed in this presentation include 1) whether hybrids respond differently to plant population, 2) whether high plant populations require higher N fertilizer rates, and 3) whether site-specific yield responses to plant population warrant variable rate seeding.
Related resources:
* Nielsen, Camberato, and Lee. 2019. Yield Response of Corn to Plant Population in Indiana. www.kingcorn.org/news/timeless...
* Nielsen, Quinn, and Camberato. 2022. Optimum Plant Populations for Corn. www.kingcorn.org/news/timeless...

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23 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 6

@jonstevensmaplegrovefarms3754 7 месяцев назад

I am in a very yield limited environment in East Central Minnesota. Did a lot of population studies with Pioneer. We had a 24, 30, 36 and a 42k population across four hybrids each year. And every year the higher population made the most yields. But the 36,000 consistently made better money. 32 or 34 is the common upper end and there's still a lot of areas that 27 and 29 are the best bang for the buck

@jvin248 10 месяцев назад

Curious if the chart at 5:50 showing increasing population tolerance of hybrids, due to selecting for that feature alone, has reduced other important variables like nutrients and protein in the corn? .. Seems like I've seen "the great pursuit of yield" has lost most of the protein, as low as 3-5% protein remains from what started as 9% protein in source yellow heirloom corn (such as Reids Yellow Dent). I started growing red and blue heirlooms that run 12-15% protein. Impact is real, a pig farmer I know found a 20% increase in litter sizes after he switched to high protein heirloom corn. I found heirloom varieties do best at lower population rates like 22-24k, but the yield loss from fewer plants is more than balanced out by the increased bacon! Last winter's drop in egg production rates noted by many homesteaders revolved around too-low of protein in the common retail brand of chicken feed to lay eggs, such as a batch of low protein corn substituted in the recipe, because when homesteaders switched feed brands their egg production returned. Perhaps there is a future research project in high protein/nutrient corn? Quality vs Quantity?

@purduecornguy 10 месяцев назад

Excellent point you raise, however I doubt that modern hybrids' tolerance to population is the CAUSE of lower protein in and of itself. It's long been recognized that there is a negative relationship between grain yield and protein in corn, but the physiological cause/effect for this relationship is not well understood. So, for now, all I can say is that the yield improvement that's occurred over the decades has simply unintentionally resulted in lower protein content.

@jonstevensmaplegrovefarms3754 7 месяцев назад

I forgot where I heard it but by taking protein out of the Corn you get a lot more kernels with the same amount of nitrogen. But like you said the colonels are just empty