21 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | February 2024 were noted, from a low of 60,000 kernels per bushel to 90,000 kernels per bushel. There was correlation between yield and kernels per bushel. The higher the yield, the lower the kernels per bushel. One secret to success for higher yields is getting lower kernels per bushel. For future yield estimation, consider kernels-per-bushel estimates and kernels per acre, and determine these prior to harvest to get accurate estimates. This will allow for potential selling of additional yield, and maximizing on commodity markets should late-season price rallies occur. Simple counting apps like “Count This” are great tools to make this task easy for your farm operation. Doing some counts throughout the day from different fields will give you a sense on kernels per bushel, as you strive to maximize not only kernels per acre but kernel weights. Kernel weight accounted for some of this yield increase for sure, but so did the environment. A lot of growers commented that their lower-yielding management zones had a higher percentage increase in yield compared to their consistently higher-yielding management zones. Weather played a key factor in part of this, as water availability was a non-limiting factor in 2023. The key take-home messages from this study include: Kernel weights matter. The larger the kernel, the more yield there is. How do we manage for higher kernel weights? By managing the environment and ensuring corn does not have a difficult day, any day. Fungicide, attention to nitrogen, and sound fertility programs add up. Managing for higher water availability in the soil rooting zone is key to ensure grain fill occurs without any stresses. Pay atten- tion to populations in these different zones. To maximize yield, it is critical to have high kernel weights, and also the right number of kernels per acre. At the end of the day, paying atten- tion to recording these finer details for the next harvest season will allow you to manage for larger yield increases. BF In my ‘Do Your Crops Get Three Square Meals’ article last month there was an error in the corn and soybean removal rates per bushel. Under Corn for K20 the values were quoted in kg/t. The correct value should read as 0.26-0.29 lb/bu. My apologies for the confusion, and thanks to the readers who reached out. Updated chart follows here. PAUL HERMANS Paul Hermans, CCA-ON is an area agronomist in Eastern Ontario with Corteva Agriscience. Kernel Size HYBRID CALCULATED KERNELS PER BUSHEL EARS PER ACRE 1000 AVG ROWS AROUND AVG KERNELS PER ROW EST YIELD USING CALCULATED KERNELS ACTUAL YIELD YIELD ESTIMATES A 70,326 30.2 17.2 32.5 240.1 239.8 198.6 187.6 B 67,500 32.4 15.2 32 233.5 243.0 185.4 175.1 A 63,520 32.4 15.2 32 248.1 253.6 185.4 175.1 B 70,954 30.2 17.2 32.5 237.9 256.5 198.6 187.6 DIFFERENCE 96.6% 77.4% 73.1% @ 85K @ 90K A VG 68,075 31.3 16.2 32.25 239.9 248.2 192.0 181.3 Crop P205 K20 Corn .37-.44 .26-.29 Soybeans .8-.88 1.38-.14
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