The founder, editor and caretaker of KingCorn.org, a popular agronomic crops website, recently provided an excellent presentation titled, Stand Establishment Issues in No-Till Corn. As he cruised the audience, Dr. Bob Nielsen laid out the basics for success with the conservation practice.

In late February, crop farmers and agricultural business types that work with them had a two day opportunity to learn more about a host of issues related to soil conservation at the 18th Annual Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference (CTTC) at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

For most farmers in our area of Ohio, no-till soybeans and no-till wheat are the norm, with probably 2/3 to 3/4 of those crops planted that way.

No-till corn is a different story, less than 1/3 of our corn is no-tilled. Thankfully, a number of our area farmers and crop advisors heard his perspective on no-till corn and may incorporate some of his suggestions in the coming crop season.

As with conventionally tilled corn, successful stand establishment (SE) relies on vigorous and uniform emergence and vigorous and uniform plant development after emergence. We know that a successful stand directly influences eventual grain yield by establishing the maximum number of uniform plants per unit area (plant population). It also indirectly impacts eventual grain yield by the degree to which plant size and vigor (the photosynthetic “factory”) is influenced.

Why is “fast” SE desirable? Essentially there are three reasons. First, the faster the seedlings emerge, the less exposure they will have to potentially damaging stresses. Second, rapidly developing plants tolerate stress better than plants developing slowly. Third, rapidly developing plants make more efficient use of the entire growing season.

What is the major roadblock to SE in no-till corn? In explaining this to those on hand, Nielsen violated the language of no-till adherents by calling crop residue trash, but qualified his commentary. He provided two definitions for crop residue.
•Trash: Stover, stubble and other plant materials left from the previous crops or weeds that directly or indirectly interferes with corn germination, emergence and seedling growth.

•Residue: Stover, stubble and other plant materials left from previous crops or weeds that conserve soil moisture, reduce soil erosion and improve soil tilth.

Obviously, crop residue has its attributes but can present many challenges to successful SE that a successful corn farmer must deal with if no-till corn is to be successful. Planting corn without tillage requires the equipment to move residue (trash) out of the seeding zone so that good seed-to-soil contact is obtained, while maintaining uniform seeding depth and slot closure.

Of course, having extensive residue present can create unique challenges with weed, insect and disease control. Long term no-tillers have adapted their management strategies to address such issues.

Dr. Nielsen, Purdue University Extension’s corn guru, spent nearly an hour laying out seed placement needs, germination, seedling emergence and plant development up to the V6 stage. There is no way this column can adequately detail the information delivered to the CTTC audience. However, if you can see the presentation notes prior to planting by visiting the http://ctc.osu.edu website later this month when it is posted.

Whether an experienced corn no-tiller or not, you will have a great opportunity to see Bob Nielsen working in his element at the Sept. 8 Ohio No-Till Field Day. The event will happen at the Keith Kemp farm in Preble County just south of West Manchester. Mark your calendar now and count on the Ohio Farm News column to provide more details down the road.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Roger Bender may write to him in care of this publication.