The rules of  growing corn don’t change; fertilize according to soil test and deal with weeds the way you normally deal with weeds with hybrid corn. If you spray any of our corn with RoundUp it will die. All our seed is open pollinated. None of them are a GMO.

We want to give you the information you need to achieve the best results possible with our corn. If you are successful, we are too. Plant population is an important element to a successful crop.  The following is our recommendation for your planter setting.  First, establish your Target Harvest Population.  We recommend for these O.P. varieties a harvest plant population of 18,000 – 24,000, depending on soil fertility and environmental stress.  The lower your soil fertility and the more stress your crop will endure the lower your Target Harvest Population.  We have some veteran growers pushing into the high twenties and thirty thousand numbers, but we are more comfortable with the more conservative approach.  We don’t see the nutrition or yield advantages at those high populations.  The less stress on a crop the better yield and nutrition.

 

Your Target Harvest Population divided by the % Germ (printed on the bag) equals Live Kernels.  [Always change the % to a decimal.  Example:  82% = 0.82]  At Green Haven we don’t use any fungicides or chemicals to treat our seed in order to improve germ test results. Therefore % germ can vary especially in a cold wet year.  By not using the crutch of the chemicals, we have stronger genetics, because by natural selection, only the hardier seed is allowed to propagate.  If the germ is below 90%, to give customers the value they expect, we overfill and ship, at our expense, at least 80,000 live kernels per bag.  That may be why the bag you received is greater than the 50 lbs. you ordered.  To determine planter setting, take Live Kernels and divide by a % stress factor.  To determine stress factor, consider soil temperature, seed bed preparation, moisture, heat, weed pressure, method of weed control, seed depth, or any other factor that would keep a live kernel from making it to harvest.  If you anticipate 10% of the Live Kernels will never make it to harvest, you would use a 90% stress factor and therefore divide by 0.90. 

 

 

                             STEP 1:       Harvest Population / % Germ (printed on bag) = Live Kernels

 STEP 2:       Live Kernels / % Stress = Planter Setting

 

 

 

 

1.       Jack up planter.

2.       Tie a 50-foot string around drive tire.

3.       Turn drive wheel smoothly at planting speed an equivalent distance of 50 feet.

4.       Determine kernel drop using chart below.

EXAMPLE:  To drop 32,200 seeds/A at 30” rows, approximately 92 kernels would drop in 50 feet

 

 Number of Kernels to Be Dropped in 50’ of Test Row…

To Arrive at Planter Setting

Row Width	PLANTER SETTING POPULATION
	18,400	20,700	23,000	25,300	27,600	29,900	32,200	34,500	36,800
30”	53	60	66	72	79	86	92	99	106
32”	57	64	70	77	85	92	99	106	113
34”	60	68	75	83	90	98	105	113	120
36”	64	72	79	87	95	104	110	118	127
38”	67	74	84	92	101	109	117	125	133
40”	70	80	89	97	106	115	123	132	140

 

 QUICK CHECK CALIBRATION METHOD (Less Accurate):

1.       Count how many seeds drops in 10 feet when operating planter at planting speed on a hard surface where seeds won’t cover.

2.       Multiply by 5.

3.       Determine estimate kernel drop using chart above.

      EXAMPLE:  If a 32” planter dropped 20 seeds in 10 feet, multiply 20 by 5.

                                                            20 x 5 = 100

Using the above chart, it can be determined that the planter is dropping approximately 32,200+ kernels.