Planting corn.....

I have had several comments from local folks (who don't really care for any old time machinery and methods) that using a lister to plant even one seed of corn is insane.

I am not in the corn business (alfalfa, oats...)
and really don't know the pros and cons of planting with a lister as opposed to a modern planter.

What are the differences of the two methods?

Thanks!

Surface planting and listing corn are 180 degress away from each other.

A lister will dig down to plant the corn in moisture and in the process, it will leave ridges between the corn rows. In other words, the corn row is down in the "ditches" initally.

Aside from the advantage of getting a good swell at planting, this helps direct/keep any later rain water down & around that new crop in that "ditch".

Later, after the corn has reached at least the 7th or 8th leaf stage and has gotten a good start, those "ridges" are then pulled back in around that corn row.

As far as it being "insane" to plant this way, I don't know about that.

Every year I see guys here and there throwing corn in a dryland field by using surface planting to see if they can get lucky and get a dryland crop. It very seldom works out here in this country.

But, this is out here in the "desert" too.

Allan

Thanks for your help!

--->Paul