A Detailed Guide to Corn Planting Conditions and Growing Environment Requirements
There are four planting conditions for corn. The first is temperature: the best temperature is 20-30°C during seed germination, 15-27°C during the jointing stage, and 25-26°C during the flowering stage. The second is light: provide 8-10 hours of light per day. The third is water: generally water more in summer and water moderately the rest of the time, and take good drainage measures during the rainy season. The fourth is soil: it should be loose and deep with rich organic matter.
A detailed introduction to corn planting conditions:
1. Temperature
Corn is a warmth-loving crop and requires relatively high temperatures throughout its growth period. The biological effective temperature for corn is 10°C. Seed germination requires 6-10°C; below 10°C germination is slow, at 16-21°C germination is vigorous, the optimum germination temperature is 28-35°C, and germination stops above 40°C. The seedling stage can tolerate short periods of low temperature down to -2-3°C. The jointing stage requires 15-27°C, the flowering stage requires 25-26°C, and the grain-filling stage requires 20-24°C. Different corn varieties also have different temperature requirements. In China, early-maturing varieties require an accumulated temperature of 20-220°C; medium-maturing varieties 23-260°C; and late-maturing varieties 25-28(30)°C. Most of the world's corn-producing regions are concentrated within areas where the July isotherm is 21-27°C and the frost-free period is 120-180 days.
2. Light
Corn is a short-day plant and can flower and set seed under short-day conditions (8-10 hours). The spectral composition has a great influence on corn development. According to research, corn develops quickly under short-wavelength light such as blue light during the day, and develops quickly under long-wavelength light such as red light in the morning or evening. Corn is a C4 plant with strong photosynthetic capacity and a high light saturation point. The general photosynthetic intensity of corn is 35-80mgCO2/dm2·leaf·hour.
3. Water
Corn plants are tall and have a large leaf area, so they also require a relatively large amount of water. The most suitable precipitation during the corn growing period is 410-640mm, and drought affects corn yield and quality. It is generally believed that areas with less than 150mm in summer are not suitable for planting corn, while too much precipitation affects light, increases disease, lodging and weed damage, and also affects improvements in corn yield and quality. Although corn requires more water, its relative water requirement is not very high, with a transpiration coefficient of 240-370, lower than that of barley (280-400), oats (340-500), alfalfa (831), and clover (797), making its water consumption relatively economical. Corn has a powerful root system and can fully utilize water in the soil. When temperatures are high and the air is dry, the leaves curl upward, reducing the transpiration area and appropriately balancing water absorption and transpiration.
4. Soil
Corn is not very strict about soil requirements. Corn can be planted in loose, deep soil rich in organic matter, such as chernozem, chestnut soil and sandy loam, within a range of 6-8. Corn seedlings can grow in soil containing 0.21% NaCl; higher than that, the plants die. Corn plants contain 16 elements. Apart from C and H2O2, which come from CO2, all must be absorbed from the soil. Those needed in relatively large amounts include N, P, K, S, Ca and Mg, etc., while those needed in smaller amounts include Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ba and Cl2, etc. From 10 days before tasseling to 25-30 days after tasseling, corn enters the stage of fastest dry matter accumulation and highest fertilizer uptake; during this stage it absorbs 70-75% of total N, 60-70% of P and 65% of K. Every 100 jin of corn grain produced requires N 1.75-2.22kg, H2PO4 0.59-0.85kg and K2o 1.5-1.84kg. The ratio of the three major elements is 2.6:1:2.
The above is a related introduction to corn planting conditions. We hope it is helpful to everyone.