Going deeper can bump corn yields When it comes to planting
depth, deeper is most often better. More producers like Dan
Gillespie of Meadow Grove are planting corn 2 1\2 inches deep to
get a more developed root system and more uniform stands.
Gillespie made the switch from 1 1\2 to 2 1\2 inches about three
years ago in his no-till corn. “In 2009, it was the best stand
I’ve ever had and better yields as a result,” he says.
“Uniformity of emergence means more uniform ears and plants, and
thus better yield potential.” Gillespie plants some of his corn
crop into fall-seeded cover crops. “Even when we encountered a
bit more drying of the soil under the cover crop, 2 1\2 inches
worked well. It got us down to the better soil moisture.” Mark
Watson, a no-tiller from Alliance in the Panhandle, also planted
at the 2 1\2-inch depth on some of his heavier soils. “The
deeper depth increased our corn yields,” he says. At a glance •
Planting corn too shallow leads to emergence problems. • Most
planters are designed to plant