Volunteer corn is a weed. Competition from volunteer corn takes away nutrients, moisture, space and light from your crops.
A recent study conducted by the University of Wyoming's Dr. Andrew Kniss at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center demonstrated how volunteer corn leads to sugarbeet yield loss.
One corn plant was planted per 50, 20, and 10 square feet in a plot of sugarbeets. The result? Yield losses of 2.5, 9 and 23 percent, respectively. We treated the row with Fusilade DX herbicide at 6 fluid ounces per acre to manage volunteer corn. To control broadleaf weeds in the row we also applied Sequence herbicide at 2.5 pints per acre.
Findings from Dr. Kniss’ study suggest the density at which volunteer corn should be controlled is equivalent to one volunteer corn plant per 12 feet of row.
Reporting from Yuma, CO
Source: www.knowmoregrowmore.com/