Available Water and Yield Changes From Planting Skip-Row Corn.

Skip-row planting arrangements have been utilized in cotton, sorghum and corn systems with the intention of preserving soil moisture for late season crop development. In southwest Nebraska, skip-row corn has been shown to have yield advantages in dry years when weeds are properly managed and there is adequate residue on the soil surface. Field trials were conducted at Ogallala, North Platte and Trenton, NE in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The traditional 30 inch corn row system was tested against 60 inch row spacing (or plant one row/skip one row), a plant two row/skip one row and a plant two row/skip two row system at 8,000, 12,000 and 16,000 plants/acre. Volumetric soil water content was measured bi-weekly at 12 inch intervals up to 72 inches deep in the soil profile throughout the growing season in order to show the relationship between soil moisture and corn yields. Volumetric soil water content measurements were collected in the row for all planting arrangements and between the rows for the skip-row systems. Additional water reserves were available to corn plants at both the 8,000 and 12,000 plants/acre populations. This additional soil moisture available to the plants can help prevent corn yield failures in years where there is little in-season precipitation in western Nebraska.