Back on April 15, we chatted with Pat Kane about his skip row planting. Pat planted two rows of winter rye (7.5 inch spacing) and left a 15-inch gap, where he planted his corn.
💧🌽Last week, we checked on the field to see its progress. This approach has been very effective. The rye worked as a water pump, pulling moisture out of the system. Since Pat was able to plant his corn early, he was able to plant into the gaps. However, he could have planted directly into the rye if the soil needed to dry out more. Having options is key to managing cover crops, especially when faced with extreme weather conditions.
☀️🌽Additionally, we looked at light penetration and the important role it plays in both corn emergence and selecting interseeded cover crops. Skip row planting provides farms the option to plant into the gaps, which increases the amount of light reaching the corn seedling.
☀️🌱As we saw last week, the corn canopy is already starting to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the soil’s surface. When interseeding cover crops, this is important information because not all species can tolerate this much shade. We’ve seen success with clovers and annual rye grass.