Cultural Practices for Corn Grown on Shallow Drought-Prone Soils in Eastern Kansas.

Short-season corn has rapidly established as a major crop on shallow drought-prone soils in eastern Kansas. Corn has replaced grain sorghum as the major non-legume row crop in this region. The increase in corn hectares has been facilitated by adapting cultural practices to optimize grain yield. Earlier planting, use of short maturity hybrids, and increasing plant populations have allowed for a 45% grain yield increase in 20 years. This study will show how short maturity hybrids and increased final plant populations have influenced grain yield and yield components. In general, hybrids that take less than 2600 GDDs from planting to black layer have shown the most consistent yields across years.  Recent studies have shown that final stands of 60,000 plants per hectare have the most consistent grain yields across years.