Ohio no-tiller David McNeilan wanted to give his corn a little more room to breathe — and tap into more nutrients, moisture and sunlight. But he also wanted more plants per acre to chase higher yield goals.

The solution he’s working to perfect is a twin-row planting configuration that meets both goals.

A no-tiller for 15 years on his 1,000-acre farm near Celina, Ohio, McNeilan has been planting twin-row corn and soybeans for 5 years.

Although dry-weather challenges during that period have made a yield comparison with his previous system difficult, McNeilan likes what he sees.

“Higher populations are necessary if we’re going to continue to increase yields, but you can only put so many plants in a row before they start competing with each other,” McNeilan says. “Twin rows seemed like the best solution for us.”

His twin-row configuration is set up on 30-inch centers with 8 inches of spacing between the individual rows. That leaves 22 inches of spacing between each set of paired rows.

At a population of 38,000 seeds per acre, plant spacing within each row is about 11 inches compared to about 5½ inches for singular 30-inch rows. Seed placement in the twin rows is also staggered, forming a kind of triangular pattern designed to maximize room for root development and sunlight utilization, while minimizing evaporative moisture loss and weed growth.

The twin-row concept of giving corn more room to grow also results in better land utilization. At a population of 38,000 seeds per acre…