Corn is one of Ukraine’s most important agricultural crops, grown for grain, cereal, silage, and biogas. According to
Corn: Crop Description
Corn is an annual high-yielding cereal crop belonging to the Poaceae family. It forms a powerful fibrous root system that can penetrate up to 3 meters deep. The stem is straight, up to 3-4 meters tall, with 8-40 leaves and lateral shoots.
Main corn development phases:
- emergence;
- 3-5 leaves;
- 7-9 leaves;
- tassel emergence;
- flowering;
- milk stage;
- dough stage;
- full maturity.
The crop is used for:
- grain and cereal production;
- silage production;
- starch, glucose, and bioethanol production;
- corn oil production;
- raw material for the fuel and energy sector.
Additionally, corn grain and its processed products are valuable high-energy feed for all types of livestock and poultry.
Corn Yield
The average corn yield per hectare is 7-7.4 tons, but modern hybrids have a potential of 12-16 t/ha. Under irrigation, yields can reach 17-19 t/ha.
Main factors affecting corn yield:
- selection of adapted hybrid;
- timing and quality of sowing;
- fertilization and protection system;
- moisture availability during critical development phases;
- disease infection and pest damage;
- timing and quality of harvesting.
To form 1 ton of grain, it extracts from the soil an average of 24-30 kg of nitrogen, 10-12 kg of phosphorus, 25-30 kg of potassium, 6-7 kg of magnesium, 8-10 kg of calcium. Plants also intensively use microelements – zinc, boron, copper, manganese, molybdenum, iron.
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Corn Growing Technology
The crop is grown in all regions of Ukraine. Optimal conditions for the crop are light and medium loams with pH 5.5-7, sum of active temperatures during vegetation – 2300-3000°C, precipitation – 450-600 mm.
Corn: Growing Conditions
Main requirements for planting corn:
- air temperature during vegetation: +15-30°C;
- sum of active temperatures (above +10°C): 2300-3000°C;
- precipitation during vegetation: 450-600 mm;
- soil moisture during 10-12 leaf stage and flowering: at least 70% of field capacity;
- optimal soil solution reaction: pH 5.5-7.
The plant is placed in field and fodder crop rotations after better predecessors – winter and spring cereals, legumes, perennial grasses. High yields are ensured when the crop is placed after potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables. The plant should not return to the same field earlier than 2-3 years.
Corn: Sowing
Obtaining uniform and full emergence is determined by the quality of pre-sowing cultivation and sowing. High farming culture involves sowing treated seeds in well-prepared soil within a short timeframe.
When to Sow Corn
The timing of when to plant corn depends on soil temperature at seed depth, which should be consistently warmed to 10-12°C. Calendar sowing dates vary depending on the region, year characteristics, and where corn is grown in Ukraine:
- Southern Steppe: April 15 – April 25;
- Northern Steppe, Southern Forest-Steppe: April 20 – May 5;
- Northern Forest-Steppe: April 25 – May 10;
- Polissia: May 1 – May 15.
Sowing at optimal times begins with early-maturing hybrids and ends with medium-late ones. Late sowing leads to yield losses, especially in late-maturing hybrids.
Meanwhile, sowing in unwarmed soil delays emergence and increases risks of seedling damage by pests and diseases. Therefore, before sowing corn, one should note the weather conditions of the year, as well as thermometer readings (depth: 5-8 cm, several field areas).
Soil Preparation for Corn Sowing
The main goal of soil preparation before sowing corn for seedlings is to create a uniform sowing layer with even compaction and sufficient moisture. To achieve optimal conditions, a comprehensive ecological approach is used:
- moisture retention – after snow melting or first rains;
- 2-3 cultivations, depth – 6-8 cm for mechanical weed control;
- pre-sowing cultivation – sowing depth with simultaneous harrowing or rolling;
- application of modern biological weed control methods;
- use of cover crops and mulching – for natural suppression of unwanted vegetation.
Field surface leveling plays an important role in soil preparation, ensuring uniform seed burial and efficiency of precision seeders. Modern combined tillage implements with GPS navigation allow performing several operations in one pass – cultivation, leveling, rolling. This is one of the most effective approaches to properly planting corn. It reduces the number of equipment passes over the field, maintains optimal soil structure, while minimizing negative impact on the field ecosystem.
Corn Predecessors
To obtain high and stable yields, it’s important to properly place the crop in rotation after better predecessors. Successful options include:
- winter cereals – wheat, barley, rye, triticale;
- legumes – peas, soybeans, lupine, grass pea, chickpeas;
- row crops – sugar beets, sunflower, potatoes;
- perennial and annual grasses.
Placement after stubble predecessors allows rational use of summer-autumn precipitation accumulated in the soil, and also reduces plant disease and pest infestation.
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Corn Seeding Rate per Hectare
The optimal corn seeding rate per hundred square meters depends on the hybrid maturity group, growing zone, and planned yield level. For modern hybrids, the following seeding rates are recommended:
- Steppe: 50-70 thousand plants/ha;
- Forest-Steppe: 70-90 thousand plants/ha;
- Polissia: 80-100 thousand plants/ha;
- irrigation: 80-100 thousand plants/ha.
On fertile soils with high moisture availability, the seeding rate is increased by 10-20%, while on poor and dry plots it is reduced. Early-maturing hybrids are sown with higher density, and medium-late and late-maturing ones with lower. It’s also important to consider seed material quality and field germination.
Corn Planting Method
How to properly sow corn? For grain, it is sown in rows 70 cm apart, and for silage – 45-50 cm. Seeds are buried 5-6 cm deep in heavy soils, 6-8 cm in light soils. For late sowing dates and dry conditions, the depth is increased – on average by 1-2 cm.
Pneumatic precision seeders are used for sowing (John Deere, Kinze, Great Plains, Gaspardo, UPS, SUPN). Modern models allow high-precision seed placement in rows and at the specified depth at optimal implement speed.
To obtain uniform emergence, it’s important to carefully adjust the seeder, ensure uniform seed burial across the field. Sowing seeds in unwarmed, waterlogged, or over-dried soil is not allowed. The optimal temperature at sowing depth is 10-12°C.
Corn Care: Disease and Pest Control
The foundation of crop protection consists of agronomic and biological methods aimed at creating unfavorable conditions for pathogen and pest development.
Selecting resistant hybrids that are resistant to root rot, common smut, or European corn borer damage significantly reduces yield loss risks. Optimizing sowing dates helps avoid mass pest emergence: early sowing will avoid cutworm attacks, while late sowing will reduce May beetle activity.
Mechanical control involves regular removal of disease-reservoir weeds (thistle, field moths) before their flowering, as well as deep autumn plowing to destroy pest overwintering stages. Using cover crops (mustard, vetch) after harvest suppresses fungal pathogen reproduction, while straw mulching reduces soil overheating and root rot development.
Biological methods are based on engaging natural control mechanisms. For cutworm control, releasing Trichogramma – parasitic insects that destroy pest eggs – is effective. Against caterpillars, bacterial preparations based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt-toxins), safe for beneficial insects, are used. Microbiological agents are applied to the soil to suppress fungal infections.
To repel aphids and thrips, spraying plants with mustard, garlic, or wormwood decoctions is used. Natural immunity enhancement is achieved by treating seeds and vegetating plants with immunomodulators based on chitosan or alginates, which activate defense mechanisms.
Transitioning to a biological-agrotechnical system requires planning but guarantees long-term soil fertility preservation, reduces toxic load on the ecosystem, and meets organic farming requirements.
When to Harvest Corn
Corn for grain is harvested at full maturity when grain moisture is 20-22%. For early-maturing hybrids, this occurs in the second half of August, for medium-maturing ones – in the first half of September, for late-maturing ones – in the second half of September.
Harvesting is done with grain combines equipped with special attachments (headers, shredders, chaff spreaders). Plant cutting height is 30-40 cm.
The crop for silage is harvested 2-3 weeks earlier – at the dough stage (35-40% moisture). Forage harvesters are used to chop and load green mass into transport vehicles. The chopped mass is immediately placed in silage structures and compacted to create anaerobic conditions. Corn moisture for storage should be 14%.
Corn Varieties
Over 1,000 hybrids of domestic and foreign breeding are available in the Ukrainian market. Selection is determined by intended use, maturity group, yield potential, and stress factor resistance.
Among foreign seed producers, the most well-known are Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer, Limagrain, KWS, Maisadour. Ukrainian breeding is represented by the Institute of Grain Crops NAAS, Plant Production Institute nd. a. V.Ya. Yuryev NAAS, NSC “Institute of Agriculture NAAS”, Vinnytsia State Agricultural Research Station.
In recent years, there has been a trend toward increasing the share of medium-early and medium-maturing hybrids, which have higher yield potential. Meanwhile, early-maturing hybrids remain popular in unstable moisture conditions and when growing for silage.
Main characteristics of the best sweet corn varieties and other modern hybrids:
- potential grain yield: 12-16 t/ha;
- rapid grain moisture release during maturation;
- erectoid leaf arrangement;
- dent and flint-dent grain type;
- resistance to lodging and stem breakage;
- suitability for mechanized harvesting;
- resistance to major diseases and pests.
List of some promising hybrids, including sweet corn varieties, by region:
- Steppe. DKC 3811, DKC 4351, DKC 4590, DKC 4795, PR37N01, PR39B76, NK Thermo, NK Lemero, KWS 2323, KWS 381, LG 30360, LG 31377, Rotterdam F1 (early sweet corn variety).
- Forest-Steppe. DKC 3472, DKC 4178, DKC 4490, PR39F58, PR39T13, SI Enermax, SI Talisman, KWS 2370, KWS Cavalier, Adeway, Aalvito.
- Polissia. Gran 220, Gran 310, DKC 2870, DKC 2960, DKC 2971, MAS 30.K, SI Rotango, KWS Kamparis, KWS 2323, ES Method.
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Cost of Growing Corn
Corn production in Ukraine is a profitable business despite high costs. In the cost structure, main items include seeds (20-25%), fertilizers (30-35%), fuel (10-15%), crop protection products (15-20%). Due to climate challenges in 2024, the average profitability level was 20-35%. High indicators (60-70%) are achieved in farms with yields of 9+ t/ha that use intensive technologies and have access to cheap credit. What will happen to corn prices? According to preliminary estimates, they will increase, which will improve profitability.
Read also: Product profitability: what it is and how to calculate the indicator
Conclusion
Following optimal planting times, selecting adapted hybrids, implementing integrated protection systems, and balanced nutrition will ensure guaranteed grain yields. Implementing precision farming elements, including crop monitoring using drones and UAVs, will facilitate timely detection of problem areas and adjustment of agrotechnological measures.
Under climate change conditions, this approach will ensure sustainable production development without excessive use of agrochemicals and negative environmental impact.
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