EFFECT OF DELAYED EMERGENCE ON CORN (ZEA MAYS L.) GRAIN YIELD

Abstract

Uneven crop stands result in a reduction in corn yield production. This study was conducted to determine the effect of delayed emergence on corn yields and the effect of nitrogen (N) applications to compensate for yield reductions. The design used was a randomized complete block, with 4 sequences of delayed planting (0,4,7,and 10 days after planting) and 3 rates of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 80 kg N ha⁻¹). At maturity, individual plants were tagged in sets of three and hand harvested. Corn ears were shelled, and yield per plant calculated. Grain yield of the delayed plant compared to that of the neighbors was reduced by 27, 8, 20 and 12 kg ha⁻¹day⁻¹ for 2007 LCB1, 2007 LCB2, 2010 LCB1 and 2010 LCB2, respectively. Over locations and years, the mean grain yield decrease of the delayed plant versus neighboring plants for each day delay was 122 kg ha⁻¹.

Keywords:

• corn
• precision agriculture
• macronutrients

ACKNOWLEGDMENTS

The authors would like to thank; Kevin Waldschmidt, Mondini Millor, Natasha Macnack, Anne Raun, Katharine Raun, and Caio Torres for their support during data collection, processing and analysis.

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/lpla.