Michigan Farmer February 2006 / 17
■
Crop Production
Strip cropping still has promise
Key Points
By TOM J. BECHMAN
MORE than 20 years ago,
a University of Illinois
agronomist created a stir
by planting corn and soybeans side by side. Fred
Welch was the same guy
who put florescent lights
in the cornfield. It was all about helping
corn plants make maximum use of light
to produce more corn.
A few farmers realized Welch was
on the right track with corn/soybean
strips. Some kept at it for several years.
Maybe someone somewhere still does.
But the challenges of planting strips of
corn side by side to soybean strips took
their toll. Plus, by most accounts, soybeans never yielded as well.
Beck’s Hybrids took another look at
this “never-quite-caught-on” concept
in their 2005 Practical Research Plots.
Once again, corn yields went up, but
soybean yields slipped.
Two outside corn rows with west
exposure yielded 250 bushels per acre
in tiled plots, compared with a whopping 266 bushels per acre in two rows
with east exposure. Four middle rows
of a taller, fuller-season hybrid yielded
255 bushels per acre. Outside rows
were nearly 6 moisture points drier.
Compared with a solid block, corn yields
averaged 25 bushels per acre more for
strips vs. conventional planting.
Yes, soybean yields were lower. Rows
nearest corn were 4.4 bushels per acre
less. But when Beck’s staff members
pushed a pencil, a $25 increase in corn
income per acre offset a $12.50-peracre loss in soybean revenue. Stripping
netted $12.50 more per acre.
Will a $12.50-per-acre extra profit
potential convince more people to try
strip cropping? Maybe, maybe not.
What would it take to make it commonplace? How about a high-yielding soybean variety that performs great in the
shade? The plant breeder who breaks
that barrier first just may be onto something big.
■ Strip cropping netted $12.50 more per
acre in Beck’s Hybrids research plots.
■ A single gene that gives soybeans
resistance to aphids has been identified.
■ Milestone herbicide can be safely applied
with livestock still in the pasture.
If you need to control Canada thistle
in noncrop areas, this herbicide is one
to watch.
Pasture breakthrough
If you raise cattle or just hate Canada
thistles, you’re bound to hear more
about Milestone herbicide from Dow
AgroSciences. It has all the earmarks of
a classic product.
Expect it to be big in pasture country
because it can be applied with livestock, even dairy cattle, still in the pasture. It’s also safe to use along ponds or
streams.
The All Steer Sure Lock feature for Yetter
2000 series fertilizer carts is a welcome
addition. It’s an innovative latch-pin that
makes unhooking or switching to road
transport more convenient. Retrofits
are available. Contact Yetter at (800)
447-5777 or visit www.yetterco.com.
John Deere weather?
OK, not even John Deere can control
the weather. But Oregon Scientific just
introduced a whole new line of weather
forecasting products under the John
Deere license.
Unique among them is a wireless
weather station with remote sensors
which operates on solar power. It
forecasts weather for the next 12 to
24 hours based upon barometric pressure.
■ Learn more at www.johndeere.
com/weather.
Plan for the Future
The crops you market today are the capital
you will need for the future. Make sure your
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Potential aphid resistance
Published reports say researchers at
the University of Illinois have identified
a single gene that confers resistance in
soybeans to specific types of aphids.
Expect to hear more about this gene,
known as Rag1.
Reportedly, 94% to 100% of female
aphids died within 10 days after feeding
on soybeans with this gene. Fewer than
one in five feeding on regular soybeans
died.
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