Ashburn, GA, (very close to Heaven!) | Depending on your soil type and growing season, this can add, I'd guess, about 8% yield. I think it is a definite advantage with corn, sorghum, and soybeans, less so with cotton. As msb said, quicker lapping of middles helps with weed control, and closer rows help with fertility and water efficiency.
Now, the disadvantages are definitely there. Eddied talked about the narrow tired tractors, but remember how expensive a cotton picker row header is to maintain and run! Those SIX 36" rows now become 7+ 30" rows, increasing harvest costs and decreasing harvest efficiency, a bigger deal if you are running a pcker instead of a stripper. If you are like us, and have to subsoil every year, you are looking at more expensive land preparation, and slower too.
Ten years ago I was much more a proponent of closer row stuff than I am now. I talked with some growers that tried it with cotton and went back later. We do have some folks planting twin row corn.... |
36" to 30" row widths
