Wheat Stubble Height On Subsequent Corn and Grain Sorghum Production.

Research on the effect of wheat stubble height on subsequent corn and grain sorghum production in a wheat-row crop-fallow rotation was initiated at the Kansas State University Southwest Research-Extension Center in 2007.  Corn and grain sorghum were planted into standing wheat stubble of three heights: optimal, short, and stripped. Optimal cutter bar height is the height necessary to maximize both grain harvested and standing stubble remaining (typically two-thirds of total plant height), the short cut treatment was half of optimal cutter bar height, and the third treatment was stubble remaining after stripper header harvest.  Average corn grain yields were 670 kg ha^-1 greater with optimal or strip stubble than with short stubble, primarily due to increased kernels per ear.  Crop water productivity was also lower with the short stubble.  Grain sorghum yields were similar with all heights of wheat stubble.