corn ???

If it's not filled all the way to the end of the ear it did not get enough water. Usually a good indication of a drought year. Thats what I've been told, anyway...

It's your growing conditions-all season long-not the corn or field.

If the ears are filled out, but they just vary in length and/or girth, then it could be the hybrid of corn you planted.  Many types of hybrids will "flex" depending upon the population at which they were planted.  If you plant a certain hybrid thicker, the ears will be shorter/ less girthy.  Some hybrids it is best to back the population down and "let it flex", or let the ears get longer/ more girthy.  Your seed salesman in your area should be able to tell you about the specific hybrid that you are planting and recommend the best populatuion to give you maximum yield. 

In 2007 I planted three  numbers. One I had picked for its production with limited nitrogen, the other two were left overs from previous years on my farm and a neighboring farm. The district sales manager for the main number suggested planting at 34,000 population and I didn't change the planter for the other two when I ran out of the first seed with a little over an acre to go.

The main seed, a Crows hybrid 4221T as I recall, did quite well with 11 pounds of N spread from MAP, a pound from two passes of glyphosate with AMS, and 60 pounds of N as 32% liquid injected 2-1/4" from the seed with the planter and another 40 pounds of the same dribbled every other row when the corn was nearly 4' tall.

The second seed left over from 2005, Ottlie 5088 IIRC seemed to do well with similar sized ears as the Crow's but I didn't check extremely close, just watched from the combine as the place was harvested and the combine didn't have a yield monitor.

The third see, a 2005 Dyna-Gro number did NOT like the nutrition and population combination. It filled just half of each ear, and surely hurt the overall yield total, which was 173.2 bushels dry per acre on 111 pounds of N after poor beans.

The Crow's and Ottlie tipped back about 3/4" which says they were close to optimum for the year, the water, and the nutrition. I did a late season stalk test on only the Crow's which showed 237 ppm N remaining, which is low enough to hint there should have been a crop response from more nitrogen. But at that point it was way too late to add any.

2008 I was all beans, and 2009 I leased the farm to a corn on corn strip tiller who didn't beat my yield until this year, getting about 184 bushels dry per acre. Corn on corn he's applying more of everything including seed.

Gerald J.

If your filled to the tip your not planting thick enough for the growing season but when you plant you don't know what the weather will be. Filled to the tip is not always something to brag about it may mean you didn't get the best yeild you could have.

Just as victory stated, tip back is a good thing to have because it shows populations is right where it should be.  I work for a seed company and that seems to be the general rule at determining if you planted heavily enough.