ISSN:
1432-2137
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Mathematics
Notes:
Zea mays L.) was overplanted and thinned to 44000 to 104000 plants ha-1 . The objective of our field research was to estimate the economic value, to the farmer, or variable rate seeding (VRS) as compared with uniform rate seeding (URS). We first estimated the correlation between field quality and economically optimal plant density for the Midwest Corn Belt was 67900 plants ha-1. For every tonne per hectare increase in site quality, as measured by yield potential, the predicted value of the site-specific economically optimal plant density increased by approximately 1200 plants ha-1 . We compared differences in revenues minus seed costs on four simulated fields. The value of VRS, ignoring the costs of VRS equipment and services, ranged from $12.83 ha-1 for farmers with VRS technology and full information to $0.15 ha-1 for farmers with VRS technology but only partial information. Profitable implementation of VRS will require detailed and expensive information regarding site characteristics, production inputs, and stochastic factors. Therefore, VRS will remain economically infeasible for most commercial corn growers until the cost of obtaining such information decreases considerably.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
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