El4-Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Octpber 18, 20Q3 Twin-Row Corn Alternative To Traditional Technique COLUMBUS, Ohio Twin-row com production a system of planting in narrow er rows is not a new concept, but it’s getting a fresh look from growers interested in an alternative production tech nique. Peter Thomison, an Ohio State University Extension agronomist, said that interest in twin row com is surging and the system may offer some agronomic and financial benefits that conventional and narrow-row systems don’t provide. Anywhere from 90 percent to 95 percent of com in Ohio is planted using a con ventional 30-inch row system. “Twin rows got a fresh look when there was a resurgence ©diem muz mm PENNSYLVANIA CORN GROWERS ASSOC. INC. Com , Soybean Conference Combines With Mid-Atlantic Tillage Conference Greg Roth Professor Of Agronomy Penn State Mark your calendar for the new statewide combined crops and no-till conference in 2004, scheduled Jan. 30 at the Grantville Holiday Inn near Harrisburg. This year’s conference will continue to address a number of topics on com and soy bean production. We’ll focus this year on how foreign markets affect Pennsylvania grain prices and we’ll also take an in-depth look at the potential of biodiesel and soy based lubricants in Pennsylvania. Other keynote speakers will address soil quality issues in relation to nb-till and how we can manage compaction and still no-till com and soybeans. A number of breakout sessions are being developed on new technologies important for com and soybean producers and will also address several addition issues on no tilling in difficult situation. The combined conference should attract a wider audience than the individual confer- an p v of narrow rows, generally de fined as row spacings of 22 inches or less, in the mid-90s. There was this perception that narrow rows might have a lot more yield potential than con ventional row spacings,” said Thomison. “People started looking at twin rows because it offered an alternative to narrow rows without having to make any major changes in production practices.” Research studies have sug gested that a narrow-row pro duction system offers slightly higher yields than a conven tional system, although results have been inconsistent. In a conventional row-spac ing system, com is planted in a single row 30 inches apart from a neighboring row. In a OTHER TIRE SIZES AND TUBES ALSO AVAILABLE typical narrow-row system, 20 inches separates each corn row. Twin row systems fall in between conventional and narrow row, with two rows of com planted six to seven inch es apart within a conventional spacing system. Thomison said that like narrow rows, twin-row sys tems may perform better at higher seeding rates. “If growers can get fairly consistent yields with twin row, then they could justify using the system. As opposed to narrow row, a twin-row sys tem allows a grower to use existing 30-inch equipment,” said Thomison. “Such a sys tem would provide a financial savings for the grower because it doesn’t incur the costs of It JHHEL ffm .HI ■BiaBMA mm m • BFGoodnch POWER GRIP BIAS R 1 Tube Type - 45° Tread Design 13.6x28 6 ply $2OO 18.4x34 8 ply .. ....$384 15.5x38 6 ply $296 18.4 x 38 8 ply $419 20.8 x 38 8 ply $565 B.F. GOODRICH POWER STEER 3 Rib Bias, Tube Type 6.50- 6 ply $6O 7.50- 8 ply $75 10.00-16 8 ply ... $l2l H Highunds’kll Wt art proud I to support PPA 1 1257 Mt. Holly Pike 6551 Tilghman 344 Green Spring Rd 1607 Gabler Road Carlisle, PA 17013 Allentown, PA 18106 Newville, PA 17241 Chambersburg, PA 17201 717-243-1382 610-481-0076 717-776-5127 717-267-3600 800-745-8069 717-243-6014 Fax 610-481-0075 Fax Allen Hoover Repair Inc. RRI, Box 227 Mifflinburg, PA 17844 570-966-3821 'jt ‘J 'j ’J '> -Jt ’J'J'J ’j 'h 'll 'Jt v 'J 'j '> -> -Ot T > vr i> u 'jt vt > m !'j lanch 888-772-8353 717-776-4484 Fax Mar-Bar Tire Service 4285 Hanover Road Hanover, PA 17331 717-633-6412 converting to narrow-row equipment.” Ohio State researchers con ducted a three-year study to determine the yield potential of twin row com production. The study, which compared the twin-row system to 30-inch (conventional) and 15-inch (narrow) row configu rations, found that the twin row system performed as well or better than the other pro duction systems, with a yield advantage over the conven tional system ranging from 4 to 15 percent. “We only looked at one com hybrid,” said Thomison. “So there is still a lot of work that needs to be done with this system to determine how other hybrids respond to it (Tires 888 -*f <f. "Greater" B.F. GOODRICH POWER RADIAL 60 Radial RIW, Tubeless 45° Tread Design 13.6R28** .$396 18.4R34* .... .$592 400/75R38** (15.5R38) . $449 18.4R38* .. .. $6OO 20.8R38* .... $778 XZSL Radial, Tubeless 10R 16.5 8 ply $235 12R16.5 10 ply .. $315 Non Directional 3-6 Times the Wear as Bias 877-222-0051 717-267-0034 Fax 800-745-8214 Smith's Farm Equipment 30 Acker Road Newport, PA 17074 717-567-3562 and how other agronomic characteristics are impacted.” Thomison said one problem researchers are finding is that with higher seeding rates comes a higher potential for lodging, a condition whereby com stalks fall over making harvest difficult. “If a grower has high yields now and is growing high plant populations, twin-row produc tion may be one approach he can take if he is looking for an alternate planting option,” said Thomison. Researchers speculate the boost in yields from twin-row and narrow-row systems may be due in part to a more rapid plant canopy development that translates into higher yield potentials. Radial RIW, Tubeless, 45“ Tread Design 13.6R28** $478 18.4R34** . . .. $759 18.4R38* |7s4 520/85R 38* (20.8R38*) . IW2 /mm* rfi BACKHdtftRkWISTRIAL XM27 - R 4 Radial, Tubeless 16.9R24 $650 17.5R24 $559 19.5R24 $664 1110 Roosevelt Ave. York. PA 17404 717-848-6347 717-846-5874 Fax Bruce B. Gamble & Son 24159 Back Road PO Box 627 Concord, PA 17217 717-349-2670 Fax 717-349-9970 AQRI 818 Price) tenge Berkeley Tire 79 State Street Everett, PA 15537 814-652-2221 800-829-4213 814-652-2936 Fax
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers