By Brad Haire
University of Georgia
For Georgia farmers who are planting corn now to start the 2006
growing season, the good news is that corn prices are higher
now. Unfortunately, it will cost more to grow it. But University
of Georgia specialists say growers can do some things to make
the most of their efforts.
Corn prices in Georgia averaged $2.15 per bushel last year, the
lowest in five years. The price now for the 2006 crop is around
$2.70, said Nathan Smith, a UGA Cooperative Extension economist.
A bushel of corn weighs about 56 pounds.
Smith tells farmers to think about contracting some of their
2006 crop now. “Prices now are attractive,” he said, “based on
what we may see later in the season.”
Getting the best price will be critical because fuel and
fertilizer costs are up this year, too, he said. Georgia farmers
spent about $400 per acre to grow irrigated corn last year.
It’ll cost about $458 this year.
Among corn-producing states, Georgia is a minor player. The
state’s farmers harvested about 230,000 acres of corn last year
and averaged 130 bushels per acre.
A little space
UGA Extension agronomist Dewey Lee said farmers may want to
think “spacing” to get more out of their corn.
They typically plant corn that will grow under irrigation at
28,000 to 30,000 seeds per acre in rows 3 feet apart. On land
without irrigation, they plant 18,000 to 20,000 seeds per
acre.
Research has shown, Lee said, that farmers can improve yields by
simply planting the same number of seeds in rows 20 inches
apart.
This allows for a fuller plant canopy, blocks out weeds and
cools down the soil. It can all add up to as much as 15 percent
higher yields in Georgia, he said. The practice has been used in
the Midwest, where most of the U.S. corn crop is grown.
Most Georgia corn farmers plant peanuts and cotton, too. Most of
their planters are set for all crops, Lee said, and not for 20-
inch rows. But it’s something farmers could consider.
Fertility research helps farmers decide how much fertilizer they
need to use to get the yields they want. Lee tells farmers to
use 1.2 pounds of nitrogen per acre for every bushel of corn
they want to grow. For example, if a farmer wants to make 200
bushels per
acre, he needs to apply 240 pounds of nitrogen.
Corn needs a lot of water, either from irrigation or rainfall.
It needs about one-third of an inch a day during its silking
stage, which happens in Georgia in late May and early June.
About 65 percent of corn in Georgia is irrigated.
Fighting disease
Diseases cost Georgia corn farmers about $10 million a year. But
it’s rare for a corn disease to destroy an entire field in
Georgia, said Bob Kemerait, a UGA Extension plant pathologist.
Historically, the state’s farmers haven’t used fungicides to
control diseases. It just wasn’t economical. A disease called
southern corn rust, however, can cause severe yield losses in
Georgia corn.
Some new fungicides, though, can make a difference. Farmers who
want to go for high yields should consider using them, the
experts say, to get the most from their corn.
Before using fungicides, however, they should think about the
weather, the time of year and how much disease pressure is in a
field. Sometimes farmers get a return on using them in Georgia.
Sometimes they don’t. Research in the UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences during the past three
years can help farmers make that decision.
To find out more about corn, agriculture or other information
from the CAES, contact your local UGA Extension office at 1-800-
ASK-UGA1.
