Which crop should be planted first?

Battle for the Belt: Which crop should be planted first, corn or soybean?

By Dr. Laura Lindsey and Dr. Osler Ortez, OSU Extension, Adapted from C.O.R.N. 2023-05

• Which crop has the smallest yield penalty for delayed planting?
• Can we adjust management practices to mitigate losses due to late planting?
• How are insects, diseases, weeds, and other factors affected by planting date?

We will address these questions (and more!) weekly during the growing season with a series of short videos. Watch Episode 1 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0U2vPdtEVc

To stay up-to-date on this project, make sure to subscribe to the CORN newsletter (https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/corn-out), subscribe to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@OSUAgronomicCrops), or follow us on Twitter (@stepupsoy, @OrtezCornCrops).

For both soybean and corn, earlier planting is promoted to maximize yield. However, Ohio has a trend toward a lower number of suitable fieldwork days. With non-favorable weather, the planting date window is often short and disconnected. Farmers often ‘debate’ which crop should be planted first- corn or soybean. The ‘Battle for the Belt’ project is a field research and extension effort to help address the question, what crop should be planted first- corn or soybean?

This research project will include field experiments at three locations in 2023: Clark County, Wood County, and Wayne County and five planting date windows, 1) Ultra early = late March to early April; 2) Early = mid to late April; 3) Normal = early to mid-May; 4) Late = late May-first week of June; and 5) Very late = mid to late June. Additionally, management decisions will be adjusted to mitigate potential losses due to delayed planting. For soybean, varying seeding rates  between 100,000 seeds/Ac and 210,000 seeds/Ac. For corn, varying hybrid relative maturities between 100-day to 115-day RM.

Stay tuned for videos, updates, and results during 2023 and 2024!