The purpose of this study is to compare different subsurface tile widths and their effects on yield and return on investment.

2017 Ohio Corn Water Management Study - Tile Spacing

Stand counts from this study show that, on average, more plants emerged this spring when tile was present. With a cool, wet spring that caused parts of the field to remain wet for a week or more, these results were not surprising. Net Effective Plant Stands (NEPS) also showed the difference of these plant stands in the tile when compared to the control. In addition to not having as many plants, 25.9 percent of this stand showed spacing or emergence issues. These early-season challenges led to approximately 60 Bu./A. or more yield advantage with the use of tile.

Most farmers know that tile is a good investment for Ohio soils but we wanted to see how return on investment differed by tile spacing. So far, all tile has shown promising returns so the least expensive spacing (60 ft.) is on track to pay for itself the fastest. However, we are only three years into this long-term study so we look forward to seeing how these results will continue to evolve in the future.

 Fall: Disk-Rip, Spring: Field Cultivation | 

 Pre: 4 oz. Corvus®, 1 lb. Atrazine, 1 qt. Roundup PowerMAX® Post: 3 oz. Capreno®, 0.5 lb. Atrazine, 1 qt. Roundup PowerMAX® | 

*®XL, Optimum, and AcreMax are registered trademarks of Pioneer. XL® brand seed is distributed by Beck’s Superior Hybrids, Inc.