corn planter spacing question

Farmallb

Well-known Member
I have an OLD 242 IHC planter. It goes up to 42in, but down to around 30.
QUESTION
If I brought it out to the 42in width, could I plant the field and then replant by 1/2 lapping the rows? This would make it to 21in rows which is doable with a row crop tractor like my 34 Case. IF I ran over some, I have a partial chance ital. still make and the upside is I would near raise the yield by a third than if I planted it in 32in rows.
 
No.Plant 30" rows,about 6" apart. Your method would be impossible to cultivate(among other issues).To plant 20" rows,you need a multi row(4 or 6 or even 8 row row) machine that is solid. Closer rows need to be planted further apart-9"or so.Doubleing up will not give 1/3 more yeild.
 
I agree with DeltaRed. You are not going to get those rows correctly spaced and anything you try to run up the rows later will be running over crop.
 
Over populating the seed count does always increase yield like you are thinking, you may end up with a bunch of corn plants with very small cobs, yes you could try your idea but, I would think unless you could stagger the seed to keep proper seed separation your extra work may not produce the results your hoping for. I tried something similar with a international 400 Air Planter by narrowing up and increasing seed output, ending up with more plants but smaller cob size.... Maybe try a small test plot?
 
I don't understand. Ive measured the distance in cornrows in my dads field when he had it rented out to a guy who farms in Kan and Mo, or used to. They measured 18in apart with corn 6 to 8in apart.
 
Comes down to your final population. You need a REALLY fertile field, an outstanding hybrid and almost perfect growing conditions to double the stand and increase the yeild substancially. In my area (Ontario) 35,000 plants per acre is high. Some farmers are experimenting with 20 inch rows pushing 40,000 plants per acre or more---the risk is in a dry or stressful year, the plants will be too competitive for whatever is short and will attempt to throw any kind of cob--small, doubled,'tassel' cobs etc. Ever seen corn with 'crazy top'? That's what can happen if things don't go extremely well with high populations.

Ben
 
I don't know. Its a 1920s/40s 2 row rope trip steel wheel planter. Ive always planted in 34in rows
 
No.

Soybeans and small grains you can play around like that and get results.

Corn is a very fussy crop at planting time, emergence, even spacing, good fertility, non compacted soil, even seed depth.

So no, you won't get good results that way with corn. It will be a disaster. Well, anyhow it won't return you anything extra, might actually lower yields.

Would take a whole book to explain it all, but the driven on rows would mess you up, how would you harvest the rows, you would only add a small population increase per acre, you need your fertility program top notch. Weed control is harder, tho the quicker canopy means you don't have to fight weeds for as long.

Your old planter isn't doing a good job spacing out seed spacing and depth as it is, you can't jump to the next level without fixing those problems. There is a reason the corn planters of today are going high-tech.

For a food plot or 3 acre field its about having fun, and so you can sure experiment and have fun and go ahead and try stuff. :) But there are a whole lot of other things needing corrected first, before just narrowing the rows and pouring more seed in the ground will actually pay off for you in better yields. My comments are for those trying to jump up a level on corn production, it takes a lot of detail. And no, I'm not there yet either, and been working on this for a few decades! ;)

Paul
 
I doubt that you can get over 15,000 ppa with a planter of that era. There should be charts to figure it out.
 
Try 42 inch rows at 14,000/acre and 10 to 14 inch spacing, 95 to 100 days open pollenated northern grown something like a Reeds Yellow Dent, 4 tons of cow and pig manure to the acre on about 5 acres, later spring planting instead of early spring. That is a old style 'advanced' row crop alternative to the 'check row' bunch planting that could be cultivated in row or cross row- especially when using a foot slidable shovel horse drawn cultivator. You now have a tractor so go for the old tractor planting method the planter did when it was new, see what you get- maybe 60 bushel to the acre, maybe 80 to 100 depending on weather and amount of fertilizer or access to chicken manure. A dry growing season but plenty of manure can get a usable yield and large fat ears or in some varieties a couple sucker stalks with a decent ear and 2 to 4 ears on main stalk- and large kernels. For the half hobby farm use today and depending on your harvest equipment- set your planter at 30 inches, seed density to maybe 22,000 to 28,000 at 6-8 inches with some dry fertilizer at planting if possible- depends some on soil test results. 30 inch is still cultivatable if you want to make two or three passes, most of sprayer rigs are set up for 30 inch now as that has become most common narrow row with the 32 inch or slightly wider as easy enough adjustment. Hand picking or let it be eaten in field by deer means all sorts of spacing possible- but if you have a small herd of locker beef or pork in mind a corn picker that the rows are spaced for is more a determinate for the planting spacing- a single row picker will handle all spacing slowly, a 2 row pull type with the narrow head spacing and a 100 bushel flare box wagon or 2 can handle small fields and a couple days harvest time will fill old corn crib with enough ears to keep a dozen pigs and couple cows over winter on 20 acres- what mother did while rest of farm was cash cropped rented by other brothers and later sister with the big equipment. Old equipment was on the farm already, some other bits and pieces found by brother who did about 1/2 the farming after partial recovery from traffic smash while drunk.
What is your plans for harvest, what equipment for harvest and what is plan for weed control and what is length of normal growing season? that will be determinant for spacing and density. RN
 
Im in NE Okla. I can raise 2 crops on the same land. Ive been raising corn followed by one cutting of haygrazer, but im thinking of doing what a farm corp with 2 feed cos on it does, and that's winter wheat followed by corn. The wheat or haygrazer for hay.
I have a binder and husker shredder to harvest the corn. I have a 2 row horse cultivator converted to be used by a tractor, AND a tractor cultivator for my 34 Case.
I use OP corn now and intend to try Wapsie Valley brand, as it seems bragged on a lot.
 
IF there is, Ive never heard of them. I once was trying to see the spacing on the planter and had it dropping every 3in. That was just in testing settings for it.
 
Paul, I went through my planter, which, for one that old isn't all that hard, but I know its in about as good a shape as the day it was first sold.
One test I havnt made is to use large plates for med or med large kernals.
 

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