Corn Tillering

Corn tillers, also called “suckers”, are starting to show up in some areas this year. The tillers are secondary vegetative shoots that typically appear near the soil line and are usually the result of favorable growing conditions. We are more likely to see tillering develop when the corn plant has a surplus of resources (fertility, moisture, sunlight, temperature, etc.) early in the growing season. Some hybrids are more prone to tillering than others but, in most cases, tillering does not negatively affect yield.

Recent studies have shown that tillers act independently from the main stem and use sugars produced by their leaves instead of stealing from the main stem. Tillers that do not produce an ear are able to move sugars back to the main stem during grain fill, essentially allowing the plant to cannibalize the tiller.

A study published in 2021 by Kansas State University also found that regardless of yield level, population or location, the tillers did not reduce corn yields. This study also noted that yield gain from tillering is less reliable than increasing populations.

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to your local Dairyland Seed DSM or Agronomist.

Brian Weller
Western Region
507.456.3034

Rod Moran
Western Region
507.456.3034

Dan Ritter
Central Region
219.863.0583

Branden Furseth
Northern Region
608.513.4265

Mark Gibson
Eastern Region
260.330.8968

Amanda Goffnett
Eastern Region
989.400.3793

Ryan Mueller
Eastern Region
989.400.3793

Enjoying our Agronomy Updates? Suggestions for topics you'd like us to weigh in on? Drop us an email at dairylandseed@dairylandseed.com. We'd love to hear from you!