By DARRELL SMITH

H e r m a n W a r s a w

b e a t t h e c h a f f

o u t o f o l d c o r n

r e c o r d s w i t h

p l e n t y o f r a i n ,

f e r t i l i z e r a n d

g o o d s o i l

You almost had to feel a little sorry for Herman Warsaw's combine. The six-row Massey Ferguson

850 chugged through his one-acre high-yield test plot at 1.2 mph—"as slow as we could go"—and still had all the crop it could handle.

In corn like that, says Warsaw, who farms in McLean County, 111., "you know real quick there's something tre­mendous going on." That "something" was a new world record corn yield— 370.3 bu. per acre.

For the first few minutes, Warsaw was alone in the field. Both official observers had been detained (and one failed to ar­rive at all). Shortly after Warsaw entered the plot, Harold Reetz of the Potash & Phosphate Institute joined him on the combine and at the elevator.

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"I knew I was putting my integrity on the line when I started to harvest," says Warsaw. "But a big storm was coming, and 40 mph winds were already blow­ing. Quite a bit of corn had already gone down." (Afterward, the storm shut down harvest for at least 10 days.)

Few who know Warsaw, his motiva­tions and his track record of high yields are likely to question this one. It was the fifth time he has broken the 300-bu. bar­rier, and all the others were witnessed— his world record 338 bu. in 1975, 325 in 1981, 312 in 1979 and 307 in 1982. Fur­thermore, for Warsaw, high yields for their own sake are not the goal. "I started shooting for high yields because I felt they were the best way to promote soil conservation," he explains.

This year's yield surpasses not only Warsaw's own dryland record but also the world irrigated corn yield record— 352.6 bu. per acre, set by Michigan's Roy Lynn Jr., in 1977.

Warsaw applied 250 lb. of 18-46-0 and 250 lb. of 0-0-60 last fall, for a total of 115 lb. of phosphorus and 150 lb. of potash. He applied 3001b. N as 28% ni­trogen solution just before planting. As he planted, he put down 63 lb. of nitro­gen and 66 lb. of sulfur. He side-dressed 761b. of nitrogen at cultivation. Warsaw had spread 10 tons of cow manure the previous fall.

The Saybrook and Drummer silt loam also received two tons of dolomit-ic limestone the previous fall. At press time, Warsaw was awaiting the results of a soil test of the high-yielding field.

It's safe to say that the readings will be high: Previous readings for some of Warsaw's high-yielding plots have shown phosphorus in the 300-to-400-lb. range and K levels approaching 1,000 lb. The high levels are part of his ongoing efforts to document the conditions re­quired for consistent 300-bu. yields.

Warsaw planted FS 854 on April 25. That's the same hybrid that produced his other 300-bu. yields. "It makes very efficient use of nitrogen and phosphor­us," says Warsaw. "It photosynthesizes about 15 days longer than most hybrids of similar maturity—that's where you get your yield boost. It also roots deep, resists stalk rot and withstands the stress of high populations whether the season is wet or dry."(Warsaw's 307 bu. in 1982 received only 11" of rain during the growing season.)

Planting rate was 36,000 seeds per acre—about 2,000 more than usual for Warsaw's high-yield plot. "We knew we had the fertility, and we just hoped we got good rainfall," he says. It was; 24"— about 2" more than normal—fell during the '85 growing season.

Warsaw controlled weeds with 3 qt. of Lasso at planting and 1 pint of Buctril after emergence. He cultivated once. "The cultivation was mostly for aera­tion and to incorporate a little residue," Warsaw explains. "Some research has shown yield increases of up to 20 bu. from cultivation." Because the crop fol­lowed corn, Warsaw applied 1 lb. of Furadan for insect control.

In fact, the crop followed not just one or two years of corn, but 21. Warsaw

FARM JOURNAL/DECEMBER 19 1

250 lb. 18-46-0 250 lb. 0-0-60 300 lb. N (28%) 300 lb. 21-0-0-22 sulfur 165 lb. 46-0-0 2 tons dolomitic lime '$31.25; prorated for 3 years) Buctril 1 pint Lasso 3 qt. Furadan 1 lb. Seed '$62/bag, 36,000 population)

$32.50 18.12 67.50 25.00 20.25 10.42

4.60 16.00 18.50 27.90

Stalk shredding Fall chiseling Field cultivating Planting Cultivating (once) Harvesting

Total costs:

Note: Warsaw also applied at least 10 tons of cow manure. This is not included in isted above.)

3.50 8.00 4.50 7.00 3.00

20.00

286.79

the fertilizer amounts

A SOIL PROFILE excavated earlier this year showed that roots grew deep even though there was adequate moisture near the surface. Deep tillage provides aeration and helps nutrients move deep into the soil, encouraging root growth, says Warsaw.

keeps continuous corn—along with oc­casional seedings of alfalfa—on his roll­ing fields (mostly in the 4%-to-5% range) to minimize erosion. He shredded stalks the previous fall and chiseled with a spe­cially modified implement. It features a row of plow colters, two ranks of twisted shovels and a rank of sweeps.

The sweeps and shovels are on 12" centers. "I moved them in to avoid leav­ing an untilled strip between the shov­els," Warsaw says. He chisels 15" deep. The sweeps leave the surface smooth enough to eliminate a leveling pass in the spring, he adds. He plants after just one field cultivation in the spring.

"I try to leave 75% of the residue on the surface after chiseling," Warsaw ex­plains. "By cultivation time, the crop has a canopy to protect it from erosion. So I try to incorporate the remaining res­idue just deeply enough for it to decay and recycle the nutrients, but without pruning the roots ofthe growing crop."

Warsaw credits this year's record yield to adequate rainfall, high fertility and the soil-building practices he has followed over many years. "It all has to go together," he says.

"Higher yields produce more residue. By leaving some of it on top, you pre­vent soil erosion and runoff. By incorpo­rating some of it, you build soil structure from the bottom up. The improved soil structure allows more water to pene­trate. Deep tillage and water move nutri­ents deeper into the soil profile. It's a process that takes many years, and you have to develop a program for your own soils," he adds.

Warsaw believes the production prac­tices he used this year would be cost effective if the grower could be assured of yields in the 300-bu. range (see table).

Warsaw began his high-yield and soil-conservation research in the 1950s, comparing yields and changes in soil structure under various tillage practices. His '75 yield brought recognition. Today, universities, agencies such as the Potash & Phosphate Institute and even some farmers are testing his concepts of deep (but minimal) tillage, residue man­agement and high fertility.

"Protecting the soil has always been the number-one goal," Warsaw says. "I think my yields show that you can do that while maximizing productivity and getting the full benefit of the fertilizer you apply." <

:ARM JOURNAL/DECEMBER 1985 17