Assessment of Hybrids and Plant Populations in a Narrow-Row Corn Production System.

A recent spike in interest of narrow-row corn production, from mostly NE Mississippi corn producers, have led to a small percentage of corn planted on row widths of less than 76 cm. In this region, growers typically plant on 96-cm beds to facilitate drainage of excess rainfall and irrigation but are concerned about wide row widths potentially reducing yield as plant populations steadily increase. Literature indicates hybrid by row width interactions suggesting that certain hybrids perform better, or worse, on narrow rows. Currently, there is no data supporting growers for hybrid selection in a narrow row system. The objectives of this study were to evaluate five corn hybrids, ranging in relative maturities of 114 to 120 days, and sub-plots of three plant populations (74,130, 98,840, and 123,550 plants ha^-1) on 48 cm rows. This study has taken place across 4 site-years in 2017, 2018, and 2019 in a dryland setting. Results indicate that hybrid (P < 0.01) and population (P < 0.01) independently affect grain yield and net returns. The two hybrids with relative maturities of 120 days produced the greatest grain yields and net returns above seed cost. In addition, grain yield and net returns were both maximized at populations of 98,840, and 123,550 plants ha^-1. Hybrid and population evaluation will continue to be an important area of research, especially in narrow row corn research, as there is little data supporting growers utilizing a narrow row corn system.