Importance of Plant Spacing: Corn Tiller Project

We're at V3 in Keats, Kansas, and that means it's time for thinning and evening out our plant stands in the plots we have for our corn tiller project! (And by "stand", I mean the number of plants we have growing in our plots)
We have three target plant population densities - 10000, 17000, and 24000 plants per acre, and these were all planted at DOUBLE the final rate (20000, 34000, and 48000 plants per acre). This allows us to make sure we have really even distribution between plants and exactly the stands we want.
Why is spacing so important? Plants respond to what is immediately available to them, which is what the different plant densities are ultimately influencing. Uneven spacing might mean more tillers for a plant with neighboring plants further away, or fewer tillers for a plant that's crowded. We're making sure each plant has a similar "field experience" to make results more comparable across the board - both in this field and with other fields across Kansas we have for this project!
* Keats, KS
* Buhler, KS
* Greensburg, KS
*Garden City, KS
* Selkirk, KS
* Goodland, KS
* Colby, KS
Stay tuned for updates on our first biomass sampling & tiller appearance too!
Interested in learning more about me and/or this project?
Check out my website: rveenstra.wixsite.com/tillers
#TillerQueen #Agronomy #CiampittiLab #GraduateSchool