Maize Row Spacing and Seeding Rate Informed by Space-per-Plant Geometry
Maize planting configuration remains a critical area for increased understanding and optimization, particularly in the context of advancing yield potential and management technologies. A field experiment was conducted in Tifton, Georgia in 2018 to characterize the grain yield and yield components re...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/374 |
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| Summary: | Maize planting configuration remains a critical area for increased understanding and optimization, particularly in the context of advancing yield potential and management technologies. A field experiment was conducted in Tifton, Georgia in 2018 to characterize the grain yield and yield components relative to comprehensive ranges of row spacings and seeding rates and to explore the potential merit of alternative parameterizations of space per plant. Treatments comprised a complete factorial arrangement of four row spacings (38, 51, 76, and 91 cm) and four seeding rates (6.9, 8.4, 9.9, and 11.4 seeds m<sup>−2</sup>). Additional metrics evaluated were an inter-plant distance (IPD) and a measure of squareness (SQ) of space per plant. The narrowest row spacing (38 cm) resulted in greater (<i>p</i> < 0.05) ear density and grain yields (8.74 ears m<sup>−2</sup> and 16.3 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>) than 76 and 91 cm rows (means = 7.90 m<sup>−2</sup> and 14.3 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>) across seeding rates. Increasing the seeding rate also increased ear density and decreased kernels row<sup>−1</sup>, but did not affect the yield. Among all parameters assessed, the IPD and SQ were most influential on both ear density and the ultimate grain yield, indicating positive yield associations not only with crowdedness (greater density), but also with maximum squareness (or balance) of space per plant. These findings warrant continued experimentation and careful integration of reduced maize row spacing in high-yield environments. |
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| ISSN: | 2073-4395 |