Relationships Between Furrow Opener, Corn Plant Spacing, and Yield
1972
Erbach, D. C. | Wilkins, D. E. | Lovely, W. G.
In spite of proven yield advantages for corn (Zea mays L.) planted in narrow rows or at equidistant spacings, equipment expense and weed control disadvantages have slowed acceptance of these cultural practices. Improving plant spacing uniformity by decreasing the intra-row spacing variance should be as effective in increasing yields as improving spacing uniformity by decreasing row width. To aid in determining what investment may economically be made to improve intra-row plant spacing uniformity, the effect of such spacing on individual plant yield and total yield was investigated. Yields and plant-spacing statistics also were obtained for corn planted with V-type runner and double-disk furrow openers. A relationship between individual plant yield and distances to adjacent plants was developed from plants harvested individually. This relationship, combined with a frequency function of distances to plants adjacent to the harvested plant, was used to compare yields of corn from conventional plant spacings with the yield of corn from a theoretical uniform intra-row spacing. The type of planter furrow openers investigated had little effect on yield or on intra-row plant spacing uniformity. Intra-row plant spacing accounted for only a small amount of the variance in individual plant yield. The study indicates that on a field scale, with corn planted in 76-cm rows, improving intra-row plant spacing may not significantly improve total yield. Therefore, it may not be economical to improve upon the intra-row plant spacing uniformity obtained with conventional planters.
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