Food Plots Corn and Soybean

[hitek7]

What is the recommended row spacing for corn and soybean when planting for wildlife food plots? I know what farmers typically plant but is this the best for food plots? I am building a no till drill for the beans and corn and were looking for spacing ideas before I started assembling. Was thinking I may go 14" for the beans and 28" on the corn (slightly tighter than normal farming...). Guess I am just trying to to get the most in small area but will this have a negative effect on anything?

 

[spoon]

Know of a farm where he planted corn on 20" rows. Don't know what kind of a harvest he got

Serious thinking about splitting the middle getting 18" rows this spring

 

[MickThompson]

Row spacing is more critical for corn. Keep in mind what you are trying to achieve with each- grain from corn and biomass from beans. I'd prefer tighter rows and a higher than normal ag spacing for beans, but if I had to choose 1, I'd go with a corn spacing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pressfit]

Even if you go with a narrower row, your spacing gets further apart.. you still plant the same number of seeds per acre.. the more narrow the row the better it shades out the weeds..

 

[rem270]

I plant soybeans and never space them. Just till and use a seed spreader. Better plant a lot because deer will wipe them out overnight.

 

[Dalton h white]

Grant woods plants eagle seed soybeans on a 7.5 inch row spacing with a the genesis no till drill. But he doesn't disk the ground,and sprays the other vegetation. Over tim he has let the vegetation die and decompose to build up the soil quality without disking.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J120A using Tapatalk

 

[MickThompson]

Even if you go with a narrower row, your spacing gets further apart.. you still plant the same number of seeds per acre.. the more narrow the row the better it shades out the weeds..

Yes, in theory. But the ground-driven implements only have so much adjustability in how often the seed drops. You're asking it to plant a seed 1/3 or 1/2 as often as the machine is designed to. You could always double plant the field for beans. If the plant population is too high in corn, you sacrifice grain production for biomass, which is of very little value to wildlife.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dalton h white]

With the beans I would want go with a higher plant population than normal epically since you would be planting for the deer. I would just make sure that you put the proper amount and mix of fertilizer and lime according to a soil test

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J120A using Tapatalk

 

[Whitetaillane8]

Broadcast them together and put twice as much beans than corn

 

[Grnwing]

I believe QDMA put out a great article about the topic of planting soybeans and corn together in a field or plot. To make it short, it said it is best to plant them separate. Corn is great for your late season hunts after the cobs have dried and soybeans are good in early/mid-summer and then again once the pods have dried in late season. Problem most folks run into is the beans get eaten before the pods ever form. One tactic I like is plant whichever you want and then once September comes along broadcast wheat over the drying plants to add some variety, now you have a great combination going into the fall.