039: Organic Corn Production Techniques w/ Dr. Erin Silva, PhD

Organics Unpacked Episode #39: Interview with Erin Silva, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Show Notes:
How can farmers improve their organic corn production? Dr. Erin Silva of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shares her research on corn production techniques, such as cover crop interseeding, wide-row spacing and integrating cover crops with reduced tillage and cultivation.
Why Should Farmers Use Wide-Row Spacing for Organic Corn?
"Also, looking at the 60-inch corn spacing, there has been some pioneering research out of Iowa and some other Midwestern states that have shown the value of potentially widening our corn row spacing but keeping the populations the same. So we're not compromising the number of plants per acre but instead looking at increasing the density within a given row. So, ideally, maintaining or even increasing yields by increasing light interception and enhancing photosynthetic capacity. But widening that row and allowing for alternative management between the rows with cover crops and having that additional light coming into that canopy could allow for additional cover crop growth and photosynthetic capture. That, then, leads to carbohydrate synthesis and potentially carbon being, then, returned back into the soil, as well as other compounds that could enhance soil biology."
Learn more about Avé Organics: aveorganics.com/
Learn more about Erin Silva at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: plantpath.wisc.edu/faculty/er...
Subscribe to ‪@aveorganics‬ to get the latest from Organics Unpacked.
#agriculture #corn #farming #organicagriculture #organicfarming