Direction to plant corn

Buzzle · Apr 27, 2010

Has anyone heard if it is better to plant corn north and south, or east and west? We have one field that is perfectly square, and we argue every year about which way is better.

old · Apr 27, 2010

Always plant corn so the common winds in the area go down the rows and not across the rows. I.E. you want the prevailing winds to have the least area to hit so that if you do get strong winds it doesn't blow your corn over and leave you with no crop or a bad crop. BTDT and learned the hard way

JMS/.MN · Apr 29, 2010

Years ago, Successful Farming magazine did an article on that, just can"t remember the result. Probably N-S, so the sun hits the leaves equally on both sides of the row, especially when the corn is taller. In our large fields, that is not an issue, always plant the long way, but I can see it"s different with small, irregular patches for fields.

willie in mn · Apr 30, 2010

JMS
That was common where I grew up in so Mn too, plant the long way. Except those that were working 320 acres, 1/2 mile by 1 mile farms. Common practice then was to plant the 1/2 mile direction. Seems that when picking, the wagon would be full at the far end, making for longer hauling distances, or when planting, the planter would be empty at the far end.
Also this was before herbicides were popular, or even invented, so when walking beans, got too far away from the water jug.
Willie

flying belgian · May 1, 2010

I've always heard it was better north and south but I have not seen any reserch to prove it.

Direction to plant corn

Buzzle

Member

old

Well-known Member

JMS/.MN

Well-known Member

willie in mn

Well-known Member

flying belgian

Well-known Member

Similar threads