Want to increase your corn population this year? (part 1)

There are a few factors to consider if you are thinking about increasing your corn population this year.

I’ve studied population the past six years in my Ole & Sven plots, along with the past couple years with our Plus20 farmers. With the increased use of planters with hydraulic drives, it is easier to plant population strips, versus stopping and changing drive sprockets. I’ve observed that you give up more potential by not having enough population in the field than having too many plants for the resources.

We produce about 5.5bu per 1,000 plants on every acre in our region. So by increasing your planting rate by 2,000 plants could result in another 11bu/acre. At $5/bu that equals a potential $55/acre for a $6/acre ($237 bag / 80,000 x 2,000) investment in planting cost. If drought or flooding situations occur, yields would be lost regardless if you had 34k plants or 30k plants per acre.

The big thing to consider when upping your population is that the extra plants need to be fed. Increased Nitrogen is a must, but also Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, and Zinc need to be considered. These may not have been limiting nutrients when you were planting 28-30k plants, but may show deficiencies with the higher population.