This week i read: From 60 to 600 Bu. Per Acre: Is 1,000-Bushel-Corn Next? via AgWeb, which I think brings up a great question surrounding what’s possible with corn yields.
When I started as an agronomist I was inherently drawn to world record yields — being in Canada, I looked a lot at wheat records in the U.K., New Zealand and Australia, and rapeseed (canola) in Europe, dialling into the specific management practices used and assessing weather conditions in detail. I even worked with farmers looking to break yield records, including in canola and peas.
One of my starting points when working with farmers attempting to push the envelope on yield was to look at first principles of plant physiology: what plant count X tiller/pod/cob # X seed number (or spikelet) X seed weight was required to hit that target yield, and then how could each of those be influenced? For example, one thing I would frequently research was seed fill. Seed weight and total number of filled seeds is a function of fill time, so what can be done to decrease chances of premature physiological maturity? Research suggests minimizing ethylene production, and ABA levels, along with managing stomatal regulation late in the season, which if managed can prolong fill time — so you can see emphasis of biostimulants, or pyraclostrobin-based fungicides to alter plant physiological responses at specific times, or find ways to increase uptake of potassium as just a few examples.
Genetics are also an inherent limitation, and so was water (eg: bushels produced per inch of water availability), but working with the best varieties and typical rainfall or irrigation capacities at the time gave a baseline to work from.
David Hula is an exceptional producer of corn. 624bu/ac pushes the boundaries, and while in my mind 1,000 bushels per acre is not “next" (the ~700 barrier is), it’s interesting to look at what is required to produce 1,000 bu/ac of corn.
The Formula for Corn
For corn the formula looks something like this:
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