Authors: Jeff Stachler, NDSU Extension Cropping Systems Specialist at the Carrington Research Extension Center, and Brady Goettl, NDSU Extension Soil Science Specialist
The 2026 corn planting season is approaching very soon. Farmers really only get one chance to properly prepare and plant a corn crop in order to maximize corn yields, but more importantly, maximize profitability. At the time of writing this article (April 9th), corn planting may begin in late-April to early-May this year in most parts of North Dakota due to soil temperatures. Hopefully, this spring’s weather cooperates for timely corn planting! According to one source, supplies of corn hybrid maturities of 85 days or less are pretty tight.
Hopefully, farmers have already chosen the proper corn hybrids for each field, considering soil types and fertility, disease and insect pressure, and proper corn maturities for where the corn will be planted. Selecting the proper corn hybrid for a field is usually the number one practice to maximize corn production profitability. Based upon a 50-year history of Wisconsin corn hybrid trials, the average yield difference between the highest yielding and the lowest yielding hybrid was 70 bushels per acre (bu/A). Choosing the correct hybrid is critical. Based upon University of Minnesota research data, corn hybrid selection may boost corn yields 37 to 64 percent (Table 1).
Table 1. Corn planting practices boosting corn yields. (University of Minnesota research)
| Agronomic Practice | Potential Yield Increase (percent) |
| Hybrid selection | 37 to 64 |
| Crop rotation versus continuous corn | 5 to 19 |
| Uniform crop emergence | 5 to 9 |
| Tillage system for continuous corn | 6 to 15 |
| Late versus early maturing corn hybrids | 5 |
| Early versus late planting date | 2 to 5 |
| Plant population | 1 to 2 |
| Uniform plant spacing | 1 to 2 |
| Narrow or twin rows versus 30-inch rows | 0 to 4 |
Planting
For proper planting of corn, please check all parts of your planter now, prior to planting, to make sure all parts are working properly. Pay special attention to the disk openers, making sure the diameter is preferably 15 inches and no less than 14.5 inches.
Soil condition and temperature are the next two management decisions to make before planting. Be sure the soil is at the proper moisture before conducting tillage and/or planting. Soil conditions too wet while conducting tillage will produce clods and cause soil compaction wherever tires, disk blades, and cultivator shovels travel, creating compaction and a poor seedbed. If soils are too wet when planting, the seed trench may be smeared, causing sidewall compaction and poor root development. Allowing the soil to get too dry prior to tillage and/or planting can leave too little water in the soil for proper seed germination.
Soil temperature is critical to maximizing corn yield! Corn can start germination at a four-inch average soil temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit, however if soil temperature stays near this average temperature, it may take up to 35 days for the corn to emerge. If the average soil temperature at a four-inch depth is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, corn can emerge within seven days. Based upon Purdue University research, if corn emerges later than one to one and a half weeks and non-uniformly, corn yields can be reduced by six to eight percent! According to University of Minnesota research, corn hybrid selection, crop rotation (a minimum of one other crop with corn, preferably more), and uniform emergence can account for up to 90 percent of corn yield increases. Corn yield in North Dakota only starts decreasing one percent per day after the optimum planting date of mid-May, so if the average 4-inch soil temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit before mid-May, it’s better to leave the seed in the bag. Hefty Seeds promotes the planting of their Hefty Brand 40 Series Corn at a 40 degrees Fahrenheit soil temperature, and you may talk to their seed representatives about their replant policy, however the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center has no research data to support their soil temperature planting claims.
Planting depth is also critical to maximizing corn yield due to proper nodal root development. A Purdue research study showed that different corn hybrids may have different yield potential based on planting depth. In the study, corn yields maximized for one hybrid when planted at a two-inch depth, while a second hybrid’s yield maximized at a planting depth of two to two and one-half inches. Gather information on planting depth for all of your corn hybrids, and if you don’t know, just plant all corn hybrids at a two-inch depth and never plant corn less than 1.5 inches deep.
For maximum corn yield, corn plants need to emerge all at the same time and be equally spaced. Non-uniform emergence and plants emerging as doubles and being non-uniformly spaced decrease corn yield.
Figure 1. Non-uniform corn emergence.
For most regions of the state and for most corn hybrids, planting 29,000 to 35,000 seeds per acre is a reasonable planting rate range. For most drought-prone areas in North Dakota, the recommended planting rate is between 16,000 and 25,000.
Corn Fertility
Many crop input decisions have already been determined—and hopefully these decisions came with pre-booking of fertilizer! Looking at fertilizer pricing trends since late fall of 2025, “up” is the best way to describe the market, especially for nitrogen (N) fertilizers. In the Northern Plains, wholesale urea and anhydrous ammonia prices have increased 69% and 27%, respectively, between November 2025 and the end of March 2026 ($200-$350 per ton). Corn is one of the highest fertilizer-input grain crops in North Dakota; logically, farmers are interested in “cutting back” not only on N, but on other fertilizer inputs as well. Brady Goettl has received many calls and emails about making fertilizer cuts, and is quick to remind everyone that “cutting” is not how we should be looking at fertilizer use, rather “how can I increase fertilizer efficiency” is much more fruitful in the long run (and farming should be considered a long-run business). With increasing corn fertilizer efficiency in mind, here are a few key points to consider for the 2026 growing season:
- Know the soil fertility for each field
- Fertilize for profitability
- Be curious, but skeptical
Knowing Soil Fertility: Soil testing should be the first step when creating a fertility management plan. How can we expect to best manage our fertilizer, and know how much to apply, if we don’t first know what the soil test levels are? Do you take off on a road trip without first checking the amount of fuel in your vehicle? Great weather conditions in 2025 facilitated N mineralization throughout the summer and fall, leading to fields having very high residual nitrate-N levels. Data from Agvise Laboratories shows median nitrate-N levels following corn, wheat, and soybeans, at 42, 36, 26 pounds (lbs.) N/acre (A), respectively, with some samples at more than 100 lbs./A. This residual N should be considered as money in the bank and can be deducted from the total amount of N fertilizer needed in 2026.
While N is often considered the most important nutrient for corn, attention must also be paid to phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). Remember Liebig’s law of the minimum: “Yield is proportional to the amount of the most limiting nutrient, whichever nutrient it may be.” To ensure all fertilizer is used with the highest efficiency, we need to make sure one nutrient is not limiting the efficiency of the others.
Fertilize for Profitability: By approaching fertilizer recommendations from the standpoint of maximizing crop profitability instead of maximizing corn yield, not only will the probability of increased net return be realized, but the amount of N fertilizer is usually reduced—a win-win! While the outdated corn yield goal N recommendations attempted to maximize yield, they did so without regard for diminishing returns as the crop reaches maximum yield. It takes more N to grow each bushel of grain the closer you are to maximum yield (in addition to reaching a point where the additional bushels cost more to grow than the sale price). Recommendations made using economic optimum N rates (EONR) will maximize net return by only recommending N be applied until profit disappears, regardless of maximum corn yield.
Shifting mindsets away from producing the highest corn yield per acre to maximizing economic returns per acre will serve farmers well this year. Overall N inputs can be reduced by using EONR with the crop producing near the point of maximum net return—positive economics in a tight year! NDSU-Extension corn recommendations for both N and K are developed to maximize economic returns. Information can be found in the circulars “North Dakota Fertilizer Recommendation Tables” (SF882) or “Soil Fertility Recommendation for Corn” (SF722) or by using the online North Dakota Crop N Recommendation Calculators (https://lamp.ndsu.edu/soils/FourCropsNitrogenCalculatorWebApp/).
Be Curious but Skeptical: The old adage “if it is too good to be true, it probably is,” also rings true in the world of soil fertility. As margins tighten, products promising big results start getting lots of attention, whether they be biological, humic, or any other. While there are certainly effective new and upcoming products, their effectiveness should be based on unbiased, third-party, and university research results. Investing money in products promising increased yield, reduced fertilizer application rates, a one pint per acre application rate—and the only research is from one side-by-side “trial” at an undisclosed location—is probably too good to be true. Through the work of Land-Grant Universities in the North Central Region, the “Compendium of Research Reports on Use of Non-Traditional Materials for Crop Production” (https://ncera103.org/) has been developed. This compendium is a good first-stop shop to locate unbiased research results on non-traditional soil amendments.
If you have a product you’d like to try on your farm, installing a replicated strip trial is the best option. Conducting replicated trials provides real, statistically valid, and useful data that can be collected—and at a lower risk than applying a product to the entire field. If you are interested in learning more about on-farm research trials, reach out to your local NDSU Extension Agent or Extension Soil Specialists located across the state.
Pest Management
Weeds: NDSU Extension has confirmed the presence of atrazine, 2,4-D, and Group 27 (HPPD-inhibiting herbicides)-resistant waterhemp in southeast, ND this past winter. Waterhemp is best managed in corn by applying multiple preemergence herbicide sites of action followed by multiple postemergence herbicide sites of action. Applying residual herbicides postemergence, such as Group 15 herbicides, improves waterhemp management in corn.
Diseases: Corn leaf diseases were more prevalent in 2025 than in past seasons, and tar spot was found for the second year in a row in ND, in more fields and at greater severity than in 2024. Carefully scout corn fields this season from tasseling and beyond for the presence of tar spot, most importantly, but for all corn leaf diseases. Closely monitoring corn leaf diseases during the 2026 growing season will assist in managing these diseases during this season and for the 2027 growing season.
Figure 2. Tar spot (photo by Adam Sisson)
Insects: Northern corn rootworm populations were at a ten-year high in southeast, ND in 2025. Corn rootworm traps were placed in Barnes, Cass, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, and Steele Counties in 2025. Northern corn rootworm beetles were found at economic threshold (2 beetles per trap per day) in 80 percent of the ten monitored 2025 fields across these counties. Farmers in the southeast part of ND should consider purchasing yellow sticky traps and placing them in corn fields this season to monitor for northern and western corn rootworm beetles.
Figure 3. Corn rootworm yellow sticky trap (photo by Ashley Dean)
North Dakota Crop and Pest Report: For the most up-to-date information on North Dakota crop production during the growing season, visit the North Dakota Crop and Pest Report website (https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/ag-topics/crop-production/crop-pest-report) and subscribe to receive vital information.
Corn Talk Magazine is here! Check out the full article and Spring 2026 issue online: https://ndcorngrowers.org/corntalk-spring-2026/.
Interested in your own copy? Reach out to Mark Puppe at to get one today.
