DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

How to assess the yield of maize in the land

1. Determine the cob population by pacing off 10 metres

2. Count the number of well formed cobs in the row on either side of you
3. Do not count blind plants or cobs that are malformed or are very small
4. Divide the total number of your count by two
a. Divide that result by 0.91 if the row space is about 1m (3ft) or
b. Divide the result by 76 if the row spacing is about 76cm
5. Multiply this answer by 1000 to give the cob count per hectare for that area you have just
sampled
6. Average the result of 10 to 15 positions ins the field to arrive at the average cob count

Example
In 10m you have counted 75 cobs in the row on either side of you. Divided by two this will
give average 36.5 cobs in 10 linear m. If you have row spacing of 76cm (30 inches) divided
by 36.5 by 76, which gives 40.1 cobs in 10 square metres. Multiplying this will give a
population of 40.00 cobs per hectare. Say you average over 15 different places. 36.500 cobs
per hectare make a not of this figure.

7. While doing each count strip ten randomly selected cobs of their sheaths in each sample area
and with a pocket tape. Measure in millimeters. The length of the cob from the base to where
ever the grain ends (many cobs will not have filled grain right to the tip). At the same time
measure the circumference of the cob round its middle. Using your thumb and middle finger.
a. If your finger and thumb cannot meet. Multiply the length of the grain on the cob by
1.7
b. If your finger and thumb can just meet, multiply the length of the grain by 1.5
c. If your finger and thumb can meet easily multiply by 1.1

Example
a. If the average cob in one sample is 150mm long and tour finger and thumb can just meet
round the girth with the sheath off then the mass of grain on the cob at 12% moisture will
be about 225 grams (150 x 1.5)

b. If the average cob over 100 or more samples comes to 200 grams then the grain yield for
that land can be obtained by multiplying the mass of the average cob by the average cob
population.

In this example 36.500 cobs multiplied by 200 grammes and divided by 1000 will give a yield
of 7.300 kg per hectare.

Summary
a. Average cob population
b. Average cob length (grain only)
c. Grasp cob around the middle and use given factors to find the girth factor
d. Multiply the length of grain in mm and the girth factor ro get the average dry grain mass.
e. Multiply this by the average cob population per hectare to get grain yield in kg per
hectare.

Source: The Farmer – 9 April 1984. pp25: