Corn Stand Count
Though the most common method of taking plant populations has been to count the number of plants in 1_1,000 of an acre, that length of row is small enough that it's easy to bias the count by consciously or unconsciously selecting better places to count. The method described here generally provides more accurate counts. The method uses a measuring wheel, which is available for $60 to $100.
1. Walk out into the field, set the measuring wheel to zero, and push it down a
row while counting plants. It's much faster to count plants in groups of three.
2. When you've counted up to 150 plants, stop and note how many feet of travel
the measuring wheel has recorded.
Because a longer row length is counted and it is more difficult to bias the count, this method requires fewer counts per acre than the older method. If stands are reasonably uniform, you can probably get a good estimate of plant population by taking one count for each 5 to 10 acres in the field.