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Short corn, short-stature corn, smart corn, reduced-stature corn. There are a lot of different terms for it, but only one company has forged the path to this revolutionary approach to corn breeding. At Stine^® Seed Company, we stand firm that we had short corn first. As the industry experts and earliest adopters of this revolution, we want growers to fully understand the advantages of short corn and that Stine is available to answer any questions about this approach and its best management practices.  

Let’s start with the basics.

What is short-stature corn?

First, it’s important to understand, “What is short-stature corn?” Technically, it’s just as it sounds: corn bred to produce short corn plants. A typical corn plant can range from 8 to 12 feet in height. Many short corn hybrids in Stine’s lineup are 7 to 8 feet. Back in the mid-1990s, the average height of our hybrids was roughly 105 to 110 inches. Today, however, we’re trending more toward 90 inches. In fact, Stine’s tallest hybrids are still shorter than most of our competitors’. It’s important to know that Stine does not intentionally select short hybrids from its breeding program, they just happen to be the hybrids yielding the most.

“We believe we found the sweet spot when it comes to short corn,” says Myron Stine, company president.

The primary goal is to produce more yield. The architecture of short corn makes it so the seed can be planted in closer proximity, allowing for more plants per acre. This equates to higher yield. Expanding populations of hybrids and the development of shorter corn are not new phenomenons but have been happening steadily over the past 90 years. These have led to the evolution of shorter material over time and something that company founder Harry Stine stumbled upon through his research.

“My father (Harry Stine) discovered the correlation between higher planting populations and shorter corn germplasm by chance through decades of research and data from our own corn breeding program,” says Stine. “He really began pursuing it in the mid-1990s with the adaption of sub-30-inch rows and has continued working with high population, short-stature corn ever since.”

What are the benefits of short corn?

Stine short-stature corn hybrids tend to have girthier stalks, shorter tassels and more upright leaves. These attributes come from generations of breeding plants to thrive in higher planting populations.

The benefits of short corn plants come from their architecture. While the plants have the same number of leaves, they produce more upright leaves that can better harvest sunlight. The plants also produce shorter tassels that grow under the leaves versus towering above (like most hybrids). Having shorter tassels under the upper leaves benefits the plant because 1.) they won’t block the sun from getting on the upper leaf material, and 2.) they are closer to the ear, allowing for more efficient pollination.

The sturdier, shorter stalks of the plant also prove beneficial during extreme weather events and with agronomic issues that can lead to standability problems. With Stine short corn, the ideal ear placement on the plants encourages better harvestability, something competitor brands are still struggling with.

“Through the years with our material, our ear placement has moved up the plant relative to the plant height,” says Stine. “We have heard that is a struggle for other competitors. Fortunately, we don’t have that problem because we’ve been doing this since the mid-1990s. We have more than 30 years of multiple generations of germplasm selection to ensure we have good ear placement.”

From a management standpoint, short corn also allows growers the benefit of in-field applications of fungicides, fertilizers and other crop inputs. With taller corn, growers may have to lean on aerial applications, which can be costlier and less efficient than a ground application. 

Can short corn still yield?

Will short corn still produce? The simple answer is, “yes.” Otherwise, why would we and all the competitors now jumping on the bandwagon be pursuing it? 

For more than a decade, Stine has had the foresight that high-population, short-stature corn is the way of the future. And that way of thinking isn’t going anywhere as evident by the rapid adoption of this phenomenon. The advantages of short corn are clear, and our data proves that short corn will yield more.

Through Stine’s Elite Yield Trails, we have advanced short corn products that have been time-tested generation after generation for ultimate performance. Because our shorter material has evolved to produce plants with better standability, more upright leaves for superior utilization of sunlight, ideal ear placement, less biomass per plant and the ability to thrive in higher population environments, we’ve essentially produced corn that yields better.

“Our focus on short-stature corn is not for the sake of being short but rather to achieve specific benefits and optimize yield potential,” says Stine. “Growers are not purchasing short corn for the visual aspect but to achieve higher populations and more corn per acre to maximize yield potential.”

To learn more about Stine short-stature corn and how you can adopt this revolutionary practice on your farm, contact your local Stine independent sales representative.

The importance of sunlight to a corn plant is paramount. Some people might even say that corn growers are in the business of harvesting sunlight, which will in turn be converted into grain. It stands to reason that sunlight hitting bare ground is like pouring money down the drain. That’s why, at Stine^®, we develop corn products that maximize every ray of sunlight 

Value of Sunlight
Just like water and nutrients, sunlight is key to photosynthesis in corn plants. Specifically, sunlight helps with carbon uptake, and when carbon dioxide flows more efficiently into the plant, it converts into and produces more carbohydrates. This then aids in the grain fill process by allowing the plants to produce more sugar and starch, resulting in more robust kernels for additional yield.

Advantages of Narrow-Rows and Higher Populations for Sunlight Interception
Planting corn in narrow rows and at higher densities allows it to canopy several weeks earlier than corn planted in wider rows. The corn is able to maximize every ray of sunlight, as well as every drop of rain during the critical late-spring/early-summer growing season. When the canopy forms early in the season, the plant leaves capture more sunlight and less escapes to the bare ground.

Another lesser-known benefit to high-density planting is erosion control. When rain hits a thick canopy of corn leaves versus dripping to the ground, the soil particles stay put. And corn that canopies earlier provides better weed suppression, making sure the weeds have a narrower window to germinate and grow.

Timing is Key
June 20 marks the summer solstice, the day where a corn crop will receive the most sunlight. Growers who were able to plant early are at an advantage because their corn crop will likely be at the ideal stage to capture the most sunlight, improving the photosynthesis process throughout June. The ideal crop stage to intercept the most sunlight is between V5 and V7, or at the canopy stage.

Yield+ Advantage of Stine HP Corn^®
For years, we’ve been using our own line of genetically unique inbreds to custom build Stine HP Corn^® hybrids. These hybrids are ideally suited for planting in narrow rows and at higher populations, and they produce shorter, narrower plants than traditional hybrids, with leaves that grow upright to catch more sunlight. Keeping sunlight where it delivers the most value — on a corn plant’s leaves — is one of several advantages of HP Corn. Additionally, these hybrids have superior standability and excellent disease resistance to ensure they stand up to the toughest of conditions — even the straight-line winds of a derecho. They also feature less biomass and more efficient water utilization, allowing them to thrive in higher populations.

To learn more about light optimization in corn and our line of Stine HP Corn, contact your local Stine sales rep.

Stine is building better corn, faster with the industry's most prolific, highest-yielding corn breeding program. Simply put, we are a research and development company offering genetics that cannot be found in any other company’s seed bag. Our core focus is on creating high-yielding inbreds that churn high-performing hybrids. In 2020 alone, we yield tested 50,000 new inbreds and 15,000 new hybrids. In 2021, we plan to yield test 50,000 new inbreds and test 58,000 hybrids. This is an increase of 43,000 new hybrids per year. And to overcome the obstacles of weather patterns in the U.S. Corn Belt, we rely on off-season research through our fast-generation breeding program to ensure that we're improving and accelerating the development of new corn lines year-round.

The Foundation
Genetics provide the foundation for a plant to succeed in the toughest situations. Stine’s genetics generate seed corn products that thrive by producing plants that allow optimum interception of the best of Earth’s elements — sunlight, water and nutrients. Here’s how.

• Improved sunlight interception. Stine’s corn is developed to harvest as much sunlight as possible. Our genetics produce corn plants with upright, narrower leaf structures, which allow the plants to thrive in narrow-row spacing for more plants per acre, resulting in higher yield.
• Shorter stature plants. Stine’s hybrids that are bred to withstand higher populations are developed with less height to decrease plant biomass and with lower ear height, both of which decrease the breaking point of the stalk and improve standability.
• Improved water uptake. The water corn imbibes is used for two reasons: growth and transpiration (vapor perspired by a plant to stay cool). Transpiration uses 99 percent of a plant’s water, while one percent is left for the growth process. A smaller plant structure requires less water for transpiration to keep it cool. And increased populations and narrow rows allow less sunlight (heat) to glare down into the canopy, equating to lower temperatures. The lower temperatures mean less transpiration, which results in water going more toward the plant to convert energy from photosynthesis to grain. This also improves pollination.
• Improved nutrient uptake. Plants use nutrients to grow. Nitrogen and sulfur are used in chlorophyll production for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll also uses carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to produce simple sugars that are sent to the ear. Sulfur also improves stress tolerance and protein synthesis of the plant. Phosphorus is used in the developmental process of new tissues, which leads to better stalk strength and root growth. This is vital to plant growth as most nutrients are taken up through the roots. Smaller plants require fewer nutrients to grow.
• Improved root mass efficiency. Soil types can dictate root mass, but our corn products are designed to withstand higher populations, which allows for more plants per acre. More plants per acre ultimately leads to increased root mass per cubic inch of soil.
• Better pollination. Most HP Corn^® products have leaves that stick up higher than tassels. The higher the tassel, the more likely it is to shade the plant. Also, more than 99 percent of pollen is not used by the plant, and it takes more nitrogen to produce pollen in the tassel than anywhere else in the plant aside from kernel production. HP plants are bred to have reduced water stress because of their architecture, which makes silks more viable to receive pollen, which in turn increases pollination potential.

Stine corn genetics provide improved light interception, improved water use, improved nutrient use and more for increased yield potential. Talk to your local Stine sales agronomist for more information on our corn lineup.