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Greene County, Illinois | What I do, and have been doing for at least ten years, is to run a deep ripper (Blue Jet sub tiller) and side dress NH3. Shanks set on 60" , so I'm running between every other row. Side-by-side tests over multiple years show yield increases from 11-22 bu. Two years I put down NH3 early, then came back and added an extra 50# N, but I left strips where I turned the applicator off and just deep tilled, but the yield was the same. Where I didn't till or add N the yields dropped 20 bu. Originally my idea was to get loose dirt for the roots to run deep before hot, dry weather got to me ( I farm a lot of clay and lighter soils) in effect drought proofing it. Several years, my neighbors corn would be rolling in the heat and mine would look just fine. I sidedress when the corn is about 6-8 inches high, since I am pulling an anhydrous tank, and want the corn to recover after turning on the ends | |
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Expanding the root system....(from below)
