Modern Corn Plant Built To Use Sunlight

By: Tom J Bechman

Nearly 25 years ago, Dave Nanda estimated that corn could yield more than 500 bushels per acre. It wasn’t just a wild guess. He based his estimate partly on how many raw ingredients corn plants could capture per acre for photosynthesis.

Over the past couple of years, farmers in national corn yield contests have proved Nanda was right and then some. They’ve surpassed the 500-bushel-per-acre mark on a minimum of 10-acre plots. They may not throw the kitchen sink at these plots, but almost everything else. Those who appear to be most successful, however, do it systematically. They may apply large amounts of one or more inputs or spend extra dollars, but only if there is a realistic chance of reaping more yield in return.

Nanda, a former plant breeder who is now a crop consultant based in Indianapolis, has upped his potential estimate for the future. “It’s possible that we may be able to grow 600 bushels on an acre of land,” Nanda says.

Yields have continued climbing over the past several decades, partially because plant breeders have developed more efficient hybrids. Today’s hybrids as a group tend to make more efficient use of inputs, starting with sunlight. It all starts with a plant designed to capture as much sunlight as possible.

More light
“The first challenge is to capture it [light] for use by the plant instead of allowing it to pass through and hit the soil surface,” Nanda says. “If you compare today’s hybrids to those of 30 to 40 years ago, modern hybrids tend to have more leaves above the ear.”