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Effect of Corn Population on Yield, Evapotranspiration, and Water‐Use Efficiency in the Northwest Corn Belt 1
Author(s) -
Timmons D. R.,
Holt R. F.,
Moraghan J. T.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1966.00021962005800040020x
Subject(s) - bushel , evapotranspiration , agronomy , sowing , water use efficiency , acre , environmental science , water use , forage , population , yield (engineering) , water content , biology , irrigation , ecology , geology , materials science , demography , geotechnical engineering , sociology , metallurgy
In 1963 and 1964, experiments were conducted in western Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, and south‐eastern North Dakota to study the effect of corn stand on yield, evapotranspiration, and water‐use efficiency at different stages of plant growth. Five corn populations, within the limits of 6,000 to 24,000 plants per acre, were planted in a Latin square design at 7 and 10 locations during 1963 and 1964, respectively. Under adequate moisture conditions in 1963, yields ranged from 60 to 134 bushels per acre at optimum stands of 14,000 to 22,000 plants, whereas, yields of 1 to 75 bushels at stands of 6,000 to 12,000 plants per acre were produced under the limited moisture conditions in 1964. Evapotranspiration from planting to maturity ranged from 13.5 to 20.6 inches and from 9.4 to 17.1 inches for 1963 and 1964, respectively. Except at 2 of the 17 locations, evapotranspiration was not affected significantly by stand at any growth stage during the 2‐year period. Water‐use efficiency increased as corn yield increased and reached a maximum of 454 pounds (8.1 bushels) of corn per inch of evapotranspiration. No definite relation of water‐use efficiency to stand was found for grain yields since optimum corn stands were related to growing seasons. Forage production and water‐use efficiency generally increased with higher plant populations, so there was a close relationship between them during the 2‐year period.