Why is it that the first row or two of corn in a field is really short, even when the rest of the crop is tall

Question

I am in Ohio, and have just always wondered this. Is the rain washing away nutrients in the soil because there are no plants on the outside to trap it?

Answer 1

Sunlight. The rows on the outside get more sun and do not need to grow as tall to get it. The inner rows grow taller to get more sun.  If you shade the outer rows in a home garden they will grow tall also.

Answer 2

Yeah, in a lot of cases it's because they lack fertilizer, or water.  The inner rows tend to be more heavily fed and grow properly.

Answer 3

The ouer rows also take the brunt of the winds

Answer 4

see if that row is on the side that is shaded by the other rows.....

Answer 5

Jim is right.  Most likely competition for sunlight pushes plants in the middle to grow taller.  Often those plants that are the most crowded will lose their bottom leaves.

This is true of most plants - check out the edge of undisturbed woodlots.  The trees are shorter on the edges too.

Answer 6

Lots of times farmers put cow corn along the outside edges to keep the deer from damaging the food crop. Thats why my outer corn is short.  NW Pa., not far from you.

Answer 7

A couple causes. Sometimes the outside rows have  drainage ditches, and they stay too wet at times.

More often, because the wind can reach the outside edge, they dry out faster, and are less lush.

The sun also bakes the outside row because there are less plants to shade the roots, thus drying them out more again.

The inside rows probably get a slight amount to overlap when being fertilized, and manually watered.

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