Better Farming - October 2016

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40 Farm News First > Better Farming October 2016
CROPS:YIELDMATTER$
stricken fields there are areas with
near-normal growth.
A lot can be learned about soil
structure with a shovel, so dig up
those areas to examine differences in
things like depth of topsoil, aggrega-
tion, structure, compaction, etc. Crop
rotation and tillage practices, cover
crops and general soil health are good
things to evaluate while in the
neighborhood. Take notes, engage
with other farmers, seed dealers and
agronomists, and make plans for next
season.
The yield components for determi-
nation of grain yield are the number
of cobs per acre multiplied by the
number of kernels, divided by 90,000
kernels per bushel, to figure out
bushels per acre of dry grain. You can
use this approach in various parts of
the field to determine bushels per acre
by marking out 1/1,000 of an acre
and counting the number of plants.
Then, pick four cobs at random.
Count the rows of kernels multiplied
by the number of kernels in a row to
get an average per cob; multiply by
1000 and divide by 90,000. On barren
tips you can count the unfertilized
ovules to determine potential yield
loss from unfilled kernels too.
There will be differences in
hybrids’ abilities to handle stress.
Making notes of those differences
may help shape hybrid selections in
Incomplete fill on cob tips was a challenge in many fields this year.