06-21-2014, 04:00 AM
quote:If you have been watching corn grow all your life, you would know a little more about how far it has advanced.
Originally posted by fishenjim
I know most grains that are gmo are dwarfed. I know that the gene that makes the stalk short makes the root shallow. I know that most topsoil is depleted. I have been watching corn and wheat grow my whole life, Ive seen it then ive seen it now.
Yep, that GMO corn they use for ethanol sure is dwarfed. Hits over 8 feet tall and has 2 ears per stalk, 10-14 inches long each! They also have a number of varieties that combat drought conditions - conditions so severe that great grandpa's corn wouldn't have even produced.
Speaking of which, would anyone have guessed 40 years ago, that corn would be yielding well over 200 bushels per acre in a typical field and soybeans hitting over 80? Record is now over 160! My grandfather was happy to get 35 off of some of the highest yielding soybean fields he had!
And the records for yields keep falling, annually...
"...harvested 454 bushels per acre for at least 10 acres at his Henrico farm, again earning him the top spot in the National Corn Growers Association’s annual contest.
The association’s last record was 442 bushels per acre in 2002 on an Iowa farm."
http://www.newsadvance.com/work_it_lynch...0f31a.html
Technology is helping to produce more, with less acreage and smaller applications of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. GPS applications are allowing farmers to spot treat fields only as needed. No farmer wants to over use any chemical because it costs the farmer money to do so.