Super - yield scientists tell their story CHICAGO, 11. - If you’re searching for the secret of 250- bushes-per-acre corn and 80-bushel soybeans, don’t gaze over the horizon - look in the mirror. There’s the person most likely to achieve those yields ... and probably sooner than you think. That’s the impression you can get after talking to the new breed of “super-yield” scientists. They’re developing methods to dramatically increase average yields - and in some cases, they’ve already done it; Dr. Roy Flannery, soil specialist at Rutgers University, has been conducting high-yield experiments with corn and soybeans for several years. His average yields the past four years: more than 300 bushels per acre with com and more than 100 bushels per acre with soybeans. Dr. Jay Johnson, Extension agronomist at Ohio State University, has averaged more than 210 bushels per acre of com the past five years. Basic farm imputs Flannery and Johnson use dif ferent approaches to achieve their results. But in one way their work is alike: Both use the same basic commercial inputs farmers use today - they just apply them in different ways. “We’ve been doing some things that are a little far out, as far as today’s farmer is concerned,” Flannery says. Some examples are: Plant populations in both com and soybeans nearly double that which the typical grower is planting today. Ultra-narrow, 12-inch rows for com, with plants staggered for equidistant spacing. Nitrogen rates up to 600 pounds per acre, plus up to 350 pounds per acre of phosphate and potash. Utilize drip irrigation, com monly used by fruit and vegetable growers, rather than feed grain producers. Corn hybrids Another departure from com mon practice by most growers is Flannery’s practice of picking the best performers in the University’s annual yield trials. “This makes hybrid selection a bit easier for us than it is for most farmers,” Flannery says. “But we’re still using strictly commercial com hybrids and soybean varieties.” Flannery quickly points out that his 8x22-foot test plots make high yields easier for him to achieve. FISHER'S PAINTING ■ ALL TYPES OF INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING ■ SANDBLASTING ■ ROOF COATING ■ RESTORATION & WATER PROOFING ON STONE & BRICK BUILDINGS Me Specialize In Fern Buildings, Feed Mills, Meter Tanks, Etc. MHh Aerial Equipment If you need good paint, roof coatings, or paint accessories at reasonable prices, stop at our new outlet store. Me buy in large quantities STORE, SHOP AND OFFICE LOCATED IN OLD STONE BARN AT; 4056 A Newport Road Kinzers, PA 17535 (Across From Pequea Valley School) 717-768-3239 "It he does a ui managing all his inputs, the farmer still has a great deal of control over what the outcome is going to be,” Flannery notes. That’s the critical thing to keep in mind about super-yield scien tists’ work: managing inputs. “For a long time, most researchers were interested in very specific aspects of crop yield - - only looking at one or two inputs,” Flannery says. “No one seemed very interested in trying to put together a package that included as many of the soil and crop inputs as possible.” Flannery established dozens of test plots to study different com binations of factors which interact to control yields most: hybrid selection, plant population, row width, fertilizer rate and available water. All the factors, with the exception of water, are controlled by the farmer. So from a practical standpoint, Flannery also ran non irriga ted plots. Flannery’s results over the last four years are: Corn Soybeans (Yield, bu./a) (Yield, bu./a) 312 94 1980 285 1981 1982 338 109 1983 289 118 Average 306 104 Nitrogen and fertilizer The top com yield of 1982 resulted from a full-season hybrid at a final stand of 37,300 plants per acre in a 12-inch row, with 500 pounds of N and 350 pounds each of potash and phosphate. That combination also produced 45 tons of silage. The best soybean yield - in 1983 - - resulted from a final stand of 261,360 plants per acre in six-inch rows with four-inch spacing bet ween plants. Fertilization; 175 pounds N, 225 pounds P 205 and 300 pounds K2O, in four separate ap plications, including three during the growing stage. Of course, Flannery is pleased with these yields, but he admits most farmers probably are not ready for hand-plant thinning and 12-inch com heads. “Some of the things we’re doing are going to come into play more and more in the future, as land becomes more scarce and world population continues to increase,” Flannery predicts. For the present, however, he has some strong advice for farmers using irrigation: “Most farmers should use Fiberglass is practically dent proof Stands up to long periods ol hard use • Contents stay fresh because fiberglass ab sorbs little or no heat • Because there is very little condensation on the inside moisture cannot alter (he contents ol material being stored • Fiberglass is rust resistant Acids and salts can t hurt it __ between 30,000 to 35,000 plants per acre, rather than the 20,000 to 24,000 they’re now using,” he says. “Also, if they’re going for high yields, they should use 1.5 to two times as much fertilizer as they now use. If you can count on the water, the extra fertilizer almost always pays off. Extra-high yields can be very profitable,” he adds. Although Flannery has collected reams of data on high-yield research, he is most pleased with his findings about irrigation management. “Water use ef ficiency has been better across the board, where we’re managing the other factors at a higher level,” he notes. If Flannery is concerned about the practicality of his research for farmers, then Dr. Jay Johnson at Ohio State University is emphatic about it. Since 1979, Johnson has con ducted high-yield research on corn and soybeans, looking for the best combination of hybrids, fertility and populations, including row spacings. “We’re conducting no research that fanners can’t implement immediately,” Johnson says. “All high-yield research is done with farm machinery available today.” Even so, Johnson admits far mers may have to hunt for equipment to match the row spacing used to achieve his highest I t Fiberdome Storage Bln Flbardoma Foraga Funnel Fiberdome Feed Cert Fiberdome Celthuteh MADE TO LAST WITH FIBERGLASS from FIBERDOME DEVRIEZEFARM EQUIPMENT Milanville, PA 717-729-7988 THOMAS DUNLAP Rt. 220. Jersey Shore, PA 717-398-1391 Practicality COMPLETE FARM POINTING INOU^IAL^j^^^RESiOEMTIAI COMMERCIAL We Use Quality Paint AERIAL LADDER EQUIPMENT • Modern and • Spray-On and Efficient Method Bi ush-ln Method • Reasonable Prices • Sandblasting if Necessary For Free Estimates Write or Call: ESH SPRAY PAINTING 717-687-7007 or 687-8262 SPRAY-ON AND BRUSH-IN PAINTER 637 Georgetown Rd. Ronks, PA 17572 Economical to Use • Simple to install • Easy to Operate • Eliminates Dirty Chutes • Directs Flow of Feed • Saves Wear on Silo Chutes • Adapts to Any Make Silo For more information contact your nearest dealer PHILLIPS PEED SERVICE INC. Germansville, PA 215-767-3819 Bath, PA 215-837-6061 FARM BUREAU Souderton, PA 215-723-4355 Mitllinburg, PA 717-966-1047 JAMES L. GOOD Sale* 4 Sarvica Box 1398 Clarksburg, PA 412-459-8052 Dr. Jay Johnson, Ohio State University, has averaged 210 bushels per acre corn the past five years in 20-inch rows. com yields: 246 bushels per acre, irrigated on 20-inch rows. Johnson has averaged 210 bushels per acre the last five years; soybeans have averaged nearly 70 bushels per acre. Irrigation improved com yields significantly only in 1981 and 1983, he notes. Key points Johnson has observed in his five-year-research project include: Although farmer interest in the 20-inch row spacings is keen, Johnson doesn’t believe the idea is right for widespread use ... yet. The major hurdle: Not enough com hybrids have been bred to handle the super-high populations L > llberdome. m m O The only all fiberglass feed cart • Buff exterior white yell coat interior • 14 bushel capacity (4 93 Hectoliter) • Immune to silage acids does not rust • Easy to load unload and sanitize 50LLENBERGER SILO T ROY AGWAY CO-OP, IRC. Chambarsburg, PA Troy, PA 717-264-9588 717 297 2880 which make narrow row spacing practical. For example, Johnson’s top yield resulted from an upright-leaf hybrid seeded at 40,000 per acre in 20-inch rows, with 400 pounds of nitrogen, 100 pounds phosphorus and 200 pounds of potassium per acre. “I’ve tested about 40 hybrids in these conditions, and more than 30 of them didn’t stand well,” Johnson says. Best steps farmers can im plement to boost corn yields: use much higher populations, with heavier fertilizer, in 20- or 30-inch row widths. “Providing you have adequate water, population is the (Turn to Page D 23) Mwm** miller | 6030 Jonestown Rd. 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