Dryland Corn Planting Depth by Population Study

• Uneven corn emergence and uneven distribution of plants can result in reduced yield potential.

• Planter setup is a critical first step to successfully establishing corn yield potential.

• The objective of this demonstration was to illustrate the importance of properly adjusted planting equipment for seeding depth and recommended seeding rate to maximize stand establishment and yield potential.

• The demonstration used a 109 day relative maturity (RM) and two 113 day RM corn products.
• Each corn product was planted at 2 populations at 4 seeding depths:
  • 25,000 and 30,000 seeds per acre planted at a1.0-inch, 1.75-inch, 2.25-inch, and 3.0-inch depths.
• The trial was planted with a Precision equipped planter with Delta Force
• Each entry consisted of six 30-inch rows by 220 feet in length.
• Yield data was captured with Precision Planting YieldSense and Climate FieldViewTM.
• Field received 13.7” of total precipitation from planting date to harvest date

Figure 3. Note delay in maturity as a result of planting depth. Image taken on August 23, 2021.

• In this trial, the highest yield was achieved with a seed depth of 2.25-inch when averaged across all three corn products (Figure 2).

• At the higher population, yield increased as seeding depth increased across the entries.

• Emergence was faster at the 1.0-inch seeding depth; however, yield inconsistency across corn products also increased (Figure 2).

• Senescence was also impacted with seeding depth as moisture stress caused shallower rooted entries to mature quicker than deeper planted entries especially at 30,000 seeds per acre (Figure 3).

• This demonstration illustrates that planter setup for proper seeding depth combined with following recommended planting populations for a given corn product and area can help maximize yield potential.

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