He Plants Corn, Beans At Same Time

He Plants Corn, Beans at Same Time CROPS New Techniques 10-2-29 Charles Hodel, Eureka, Ill., plants corn and soybeans at the same time in a 12-row planter. The center 6 rows plant beans and the outer 3 rows on either side plant corn. "When six rows of corn stand alone they get extra light, better moisture, increased air movement, and the corn is better able to withstand drouth. Yield increases run as high as 50 bu. per acre in a dry year," says Hodel. He uses herbicides compatible to both crops (Dual and Basagran) and side dresses nitrogen onto corn. He plants at a date that's late for corn and early for soybeans ù usually around the middle of May ù and plant populations on the Max-Emerge planter are set at about 27,000, which works out well for both corn and beans. Hodel positions bean rows in the middle because his bean cultivating and harvesting equipment is the most sensitive to row variation. Corn yields have averaged 10 to 20 bu. higher on strip-cropped ground. Soybean yields drop slightly. Hodel's corn-bean planting idea was selected as one of 20 best conservation tillage ideas by Ciba-Geigy. For a free copy of a booklet detailing all the ideas, contact: Karen Smith, Ciba-Geigy Corp., P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, N.C. 27419 (ph 919 292-7100).

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