Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 8:30 AM
335-3
The Solar Corridor Hypothesis.
Increased Productivity can be achieved through the utilization of the properly developed Solar Corridor Crop System. The following proposed system protocol example, perhaps best illustrates what one version of the Solar Corridor looks like. (Assuming 30 inch row equipment and suitable conditions for raising winter wheat and corn.) In the fall; Drill 3, consecutive 10 inch rows of wheat and plug the next 3, consecutive rows in alternating 30 inch swaths of wheat and fallow. In the winter; Frost seed clover into the wheat swath. In the spring; Plant a Twin (stagger)* Row of corn in the EXACT center of the fallow swath. The wheat enjoys the benefit of the (light enriched) solar corridor production environment throughout its most critical yield development stage of growth. The clover does likewise until wheat harvest. The corn does likewise throughout its entire reproductive stage of growth. The increased PAR potential, to each crop is the primary contributing factor to the potential development of this system. We will A) outline our experience in the initial development stages of the system, B) offer preliminary performance parameters and C) call upon you for the interdisciplinary expertise you possess to complete the systems research needed; to meet the increasing production demands being placed on today's farmer. To maximize the increased yield potential, enabled by increased PAR; we have recognized 1) the cultivar, 2) the cultivar X site and 3) the site specific complexity of those potential results. Best management practices for conventional production need to be sequentially revised, in order to maximize the new production environment enabled by the solar corridor. This is the challenge I wish we would address. With your input, we can proceed to the next step.
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