Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

2025

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science

First Advisor

Peter Kovacs

Abstract

The orientation of corn (Zea mays L.) seeds during planting and the strategic placement of starter fertilizers represents two management practices that could potentially influence crop performance. Seed orientation may affect emergence, leaf architecture and light interception patterns, while starter fertilizers aim to enhance early season nutrient availability and seedling vigor. This research explored how these practices, independently and in combination, might shape corn development from emergence through harvest. We conducted field studies in 2022 and 2023 to investigate the impact of seed orientation, starter fertilizer placement and their interaction on corn seedling emergence, crop development, leaf direction and grain yield. The field experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with six replications. The treatments consisted of two different seed orientations regarding how the embryo and seed tip is positioned. For the starter fertilizer effect, the one-sided on which fertilizer syringe injected 5 cm from one side of the seed and two-sided on which fertilizer syringe injected 5 cm from both sides of the seed were compared to the control. The treatment structure consisted of factorial combination of seed orientation, and starter fertilizer placements using Pioneer P9489Q hybrid. Earlier seedling emergence occurred with seed placed tip down in both years at the beginning of the emergence window, but differences disappeared at the end. There was no impact of starter fertilizer progress in emergence across treatments in both years. Furthermore, seed orientation was found to influence the direction of leaf development, and they showed similar patterns of leaf orientation in both years. However, there were no significant differences in leaf orientation pattern due to the starter fertilizer placement methods. The 2023 Aurora site-year produced significantly higher yields (11.17 Mg ha-1) compared to 2022 Volga (10.45 Mg ha-1), with corresponding differences in seed weight. Interestingly, seed orientation (down vs. flat), starter fertilizer placement (2 sides, 1 side, or none) and their interaction had no significant differences in grain yield (p=0.46, p=0.52 and p=0.85, respectively) and 500 seed weight (p=0.71, p=0.99 and p=0.70, respectively). These findings offer valuable insights for agricultural management practices, suggesting that while seed orientation may modify early growth characteristics and canopy architecture, these initial differences ultimately equalize without affecting harvest outcomes. This research indicates that producers may have flexibility in their planting approach regarding seed orientation and starter fertilizer placement without compromising yield potential, at least under conditions similar to those in our study.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Corn -- Yields. 
Corn -- Seeds. 
Corn -- Seeds -- Production (Biology)
Corn -- Fertilizers.      

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright