MSU crop and soil science professors are researching what may be the wave of the future for growing corn.

Kurt Thelen, professor of crop and soil sciences, has been researching the effects of growing corn in narrow 15-inch rows in comparison to the traditional 30-inch rows that many farmers around the country employ.

The study began in 1997.

“Historically it’s always been the planting implements that spaced rows of corn,” Thelen said. “But no one’s ever looked at what’s the best way strictly from the plant’s perspective.”

In the past, horses carried plows that spaced rows to 40 inches because they could only fit through that width plowing side by side. Tractors have traditionally spaced at 30 inches also because of their width, he said.

“The whole idea is to create a better canopy to intercept sunlight,” Thelen said. “Light is the energy that drives the corn yield.

“If you have light falling on the soil, you’re not doing a very good job of harvesting that light - therefore you’re wasting energy.”

Keeping the canopy tight is a direct effect of having narrow rows, he said.

“The next step is to figure out which factors create the best yield,” Thelen said. “Identifying factors such as soil types, cultivation, light levels and fertility can lead to better yields.”

Researchers have been testing this theory across the state in order to take different factors into account and to combine theoretical research with practical applications, he said.

“This will help growers around the state decide whether or not to switch to the narrow rows because it will cost money for farmers to adapt to these different rows of corn,”he said.

Keith Dysinger, a crop and soil sciences research assistant, has been working with Thelen on this project since 1999.

“Right now the benefit in yield is real close to the margin of cost to switch to this system,” Dysinger said. “Now we are looking at different techniques to increase the corn output.”

Thelen said none of this research would be possible if it wasn’t for Dysinger, who built a planter and a harvester with the ability to change row widths in the field.

“Normally a farmer has one planter, but in doing this research we couldn’t just buy three planters to test different row widths,” Dysinger said. “We needed to do these experiments with one (multipurpose) planter.”

This led Dysinger to create a planter and harvester that could adapt to different row settings in the field.

“The planter we built is one of a kind, as far as I know,” he said. “Although some other universities have asked to see it - in order to copy our idea.”

Bill Widdicombe, a graduate student in crop and soil sciences, said he’s been in the field of agriculture his whole life.

“I grew up on a farm,” he said. “I’ve always been around farmers and a career in agriculture has always been appealing to me.”

Widdicombe said working with Thelen on this project has been a fantastic experience.

“He has had probably the largest influence on me as a mentor in helping me accomplish my research,” he said.