Yield Responses to Planting Density for US Modern Corn Hybrids: A Synthesis-Analysis

By Yared Assefa, P. V. Vara Prasad, P. Carter, A. HindsMark, Gaurav Bhalla, Ryan Schon, M. Jeschke, Steve Paszkiewicz, Ignacio Antonio Ciampitti. 2016

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Identifying an optimal plant density is a critical management decision for corn (Zea mays L.) production. The main objectives of this study were to: (i) investigate the grain yield responses to plant density (yield–density relationship), (ii) identify best fitted yield–density response curves, and (iii) explore genotype (G) ́ environment (E) interaction effect on yield–density response models. Analysis was conducted on meta-data (124,374 observations) gathered from 22 US states and 2 Canadian provinces, diverse sites (E), for years from 2000–2014 on multiple hybrids (G). Yield data were further grouped into four yield environments (low [LY], <7 Mg ha-1; medium [MY], 7–10 Mg ha-1; high [HY], 10–13 Mg ha-1; and very high [VHY], >13 Mg ha-1 yielding groups). Primary outcomes from this analysis were: (1) strong G ́ E interaction; (2) a quadratic model best fitted yield–density relationship; (3) four contrasting yield–density responses identified as dominant in each yield productivity environment, i.e., a declining, a constant, an increasing, and ever-increasing type; (4) the yield productivity environment varied for the different corn comparative relative maturity (CRM) groups, i.e., the LY environment for long-maturing hybrids matched with a MY or HY environment for short maturing hybrids; and (5) maximum yielding plant density (MYPD) was lower but maximum yield was greater for longversus short-maturing hybrids. In summary, optimal plant density should be decided based on detailed G ́ E analysis of production conditions that include factors such as CRM, yield productivity environment (weather–soil ́ management practices), and site information. Y. Assefa, P.V.V. Prasad, and I.A. Ciampitti, Dep. of Agronomy, Kansas State Univ., 2004 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Manhattan, KS 66506; P. Carter, M. Hinds, G. Bhalla, R. Schon, M. Jeschke, and S. Paszkiewicz, DuPont Pioneer, 7100 NW 62nd Ave., Johnston, IA 50131. Assigned to Associate Editor Jeff Melkonian. Received 8 Apr. 2016. Accepted 5 June 2016. *Corresponding author (ciampitti@ksu.edu). Abbreviations: CRM, corn relative maturity; E, environment; G, genotype; HY, high yielding; LY, low yielding; M, management; MY, medium yielding; VHY, very high yielding; MYPD, maximum yielding planting density; RMSE, root mean square error. Published in Crop Sci. 56:2802–2817 (2016). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2016.04.0215 © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Published July 28, 2016

Subfields: Agronomy and Crop Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a7705895d6e2a3f7f768efd7d44ef1027c796c59