Page 15 2025 Logan County Spring Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2025 tolerate being planted closer together. Another advantage is having the ability to use ground equipment to apply fungicide, herbicide, and put on fertilizers, which will be a more efficient use of resources. Short corn also has a reduction in the stalk biomass, which simply means that the total weight or mass of all plant material from the corn crop (stalk, leaves, cobs, grain) can still be used as a renewable energy source. This leftover part, or the corn stover or trash as it is referred to, is the main component for biofuel production like ethanol. Short corn is just shorter. However, it still maintains the size, number of leaves, and the same reproductive tissues, allowing a more efficient way to portion out the nutrients and energy. There have been a lot of studies done on short corn versus the traditional height of corn, and one claim is that with the short corn, you can plant more rows per acre, increasing the amount of yield because narrower rows can be planted. Another hopeful advantage is the durability of the short corn. By being closer to the ground, the wind and storms may not cause it to lay down, break the stalks, or damage the ears as much. However, because of the shortness of the stalk, the ear on the stalk must be a specific height above the soil surface so that the current combine headers can harvest properly. If not, it could add wear or the need to add additional parts to the machine. However, some farmers argue that the shortness of the corn does not give it enough height to shadow out the sun to help prevent unwanted weeds from growing as fast. An interesting benefit that they have seen during the testing is that the roots of the corn seem to have developed stronger and faster than traditional corn seeds, which the hope is that this reasoning means that the roots can explore more soil volume, which will allow them to take advantage of more nutrients. Long-term, that means that they are hopeful that they can get the same amount out of the soil that is currently applied to end up with more yield. Short corn is a new concept that is fun to take care of, and it is interesting to see everyone’s reactions to it, with most wondering if the shorter corn will be better with all the many different weather events we are now seeing across the Midwest. Overall, there are many different hybrids, and companies will continue to research, develop, and grow many different products in their test Continued --
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