Field Notes from Kip Cullers

Question: What is your tillage program for corn on corn? What are your thoughts on vertical tillage vs. horizontal tillage tools (like a field cultivator)?

Kip: We have had to move to a pretty aggressive form of vertical tillage due to the frequent use of poultry litter on our corn and soybean acres. We do not want layers forming in the soil to slow up root growth or air movement. The soil needs to be able to "breath".

Question: Kip, what kind of a yield increase could I expect from irrigating heavy soils in Northern Illinois if I went from 32500 population to 44000 plants/acre. Assuming all good practices?

Kip: Our Newtonia soil is well-drained so we can get by with frequent irrigations without having problems with saturated conditions and low oxygen in the root zone. Heavy or too frequent irrigations on a heavy soil could make things worse if ponding and/or saturation occurs. If you do not already practice irrigation, it might be a good idea to start with one small field and get experience before making a major investment.

Question: Kip, I was wondering if you had to replant after the freeze and also if you are having flooding problems. They kept saying Mo. has flooding and I didn't know if it was in your area or not?

Kip: We had to replant more than half of our corn acres, even those that had germinated but had not yet emerged above the soil surface. The soils froze down to two inches depth, so the growing point was killed. We have not had flooding problems in my fields, but the rains have been frequent. Right now what I really need is sunshine to get the crops moving.

Question: Kip, Are you in a crop rotation? If so what crops are you rotating to and what intervals? Fertility program?

Kip: We rotate between corn and a variety of vegetable crops. We have not grown too many acres of soybeans before but last year's high yield in that crop has gotten me interested in growing more soybean acres. We have very little corn following corn. We use poultry litter for most of our P and K plus some of the N. We also supplement with ammonium sulfate through the pivots during the season.

Question: How much yield advantage do you see in your corn from planting 56000-72000 seeds per acre versus the typical 32000-36000 generally used on irrigated ground? (Assuming that adequate inputs were applied to the higher population to achieve higher yields)?

Kip: We are constantly doing on-farm plant population tests to see what advantage we are getting from higher plants per acre. This year we will be testing 35,000 and 56,000 populations in both twin row and single row configuration. We are not afraid of pushing populations up because we can maintain plant health and stalk strength all the way until harvest. My guess is we will see at least a 50 bushel advantage at the higher population.

Question: Do you try any other brand products besides Pioneer?

Kip: My philosophy is to plant the genetics that are the best adapted to your local area, and for me that has been Pioneer. I do plant other brands of hybrids in my contest fields, but so far they are lagging behind in yield in SW Missouri. Other areas may be different.

Question: Hi, I farm and also fly ag-plane. Could you make recommendations on dryland corn and beans as far as fungicides, insecticides, and foliar fertilizer that I would be able to apply for a yield boost?

Kip: We make repeated fungicide sprays to maintain plant health. We irrigate almost every day which keeps the foliage moist much of the time. Combined with our high temperatures, that makes for favorable conditions for many foliar diseases to come in. In your non-irrigated environment in Illinois, you would likely benefit less from fungicides, but they may still provide a benefit. I learned in the produce business that maintaining plant health all season long is crucial. For insecticides, I typically use either Poncho® 250 or 1250 and then use frequent scouting to see if additional sprays are needed in-season. We have an airplane in the area most days, so it is not difficult to add in a fungicide, an insecticide or micronutrients if they are needed.