One of the best informed men in the world on the subject of
com plant populations and the many factors which contribute
to resultant yields is Mr. G. H. Stringfield, research agronomist
for DeKalb Seed Com.
What is a thick com stand? Stringfield’s answer was that any
finished stand of 12,000 plants per acre or more in the southern
part of the com belt is heavy com. In the north, 16,000 or more
is considered high. You find quite a number of finished stands
of 20,000 or more. He said that the great majority of farmers
plant at less than 16,000. He further explained that plants are
smaller in the north and therefore more are needed to fill an
j« XV* y acre. Fewer large, leafy plants in the south provide as much
■A X \J %As J Cl/ M shading effect as larger counts of smaller plants up north.
“String” says that any farmer who really knows his farm . . .
^ I— || 1 gJ has been growing com on it for years . . . has a good chance of
d ¥fLA/ L LA> being able to increase his stands without running into trouble.
He says such a farmer can almost produce the size crop he de
m sires by proper seed corn selection, proper rates and ratios of
\M XJ applied fertilizer, and high populations. Of course, nature must
*-* ” cooperate.
# _ “The successful farmer isn’t bashful about the use of ferti
U?ITf|. C¥¥¥*¥¥ l*zer- If takes certain amounts of basic elements to produce
certain amounts of com. It’s that simple . . low plant food
level . . . low yields.”
w* 1 n y-% ¥ One of the rules of thumb he gave as a guide to plant popu
LtU/ ¥ L/L lations in a given field was: “An optimum stand should produce
productions?
G. H. Stringfield is now doing re
search agronomy work with the
DeKalb Agricultural Association,
Inc., DeKalb, Illinois. He com
pleted his undergraduate study
at the University of Nebraska in
1924. He took his graduate work
at the University of Wisconsin
and the University of Ohio.
air dry ears that average a half a pound or slightly more.”
String listed environment factors and genetic factors which
should be considered. Environmental factors include: Soil pro
ductivity — texture, slope and drainage along with sufficient
nutrients; weather and climate — the higher the rainfall, the
higher the plant populations (North ana Eastern Iowa up to
9,500 plants per ac J r T 1' to 20,000); day
length — shorter require higher
populations to utilize each acre.
Listed among genetic factors are shade tolerance — some
varieties are much more tolerant. Stringfield feels shading can
cut yields by a third. Barrenness can also be linked with shad
ing feels Stringfield. Stalk quality is a genetic factor.
A resistance to stalk rots as well as a good strong rind is a
protection against a tangled mess at harvest time. A good root
anchor can also prevent lodging and the greater genetic ten
dency toward prolificacy, the lower the incidence of barren
ness.
Another set of conditions that have led to serious trouble is
heavy stands and low fertility.
I
Control
1 IT
You'll find it pays to spray with Diazinon—just one residual application
on dairy barn walls and ceiling, kills flies for weeks.
Diazinon saves time and labor, gives you lower cost per day of protec
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supply dealer for Diazinon —one of the safer phosphate insecticides
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