Y-DROP vs Coulter Sidedress: What the Test Plots Show
Y-DROP doesn't win every time. Farm Journal's plots found about the same yield early, and a real gain later and in N-short years. Here's when it pays.
We sell and install 360 Y-DROP, so you'd expect us to tell you it always wins. It doesn't. Here's what the numbers show.
What the maker says
360 Yield Center points out that a coulter bar puts nitrogen in the middle of the row, about 15 inches from the plant on 30s. Y-DROP puts it just inches from the stalk base. It reports 25% more nitrates in the plant and an average gain of over six bushels compared to coulters.
What the test plots say
Farm Journal's test plots ran this for three years in central Illinois and southern Michigan, under agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer:
- At V3 to V6, Y-DROP yielded about the same as a coulter cart.
- At V8 to V11, Y-DROP beat normal drops. In 2015, an N-hungry year, that was 10 bushels an acre. In 2016 and 2017, it was under 2.
- A two-pass program with V3 to V5 sidedress, then V8 to V13 with Y-DROP, averaged 4.24 more bushels than a single pass on lighter Michigan soils, with a return of $9.48 an acre.
Ferrie's take was blunt: Y-DROP isn't necessarily the answer for applications from emergence up to V7.
So when does it pay?
It makes the most sense if you:
- Want more window than a coulter gives you. 360 Yield Center rates the bar kit as late as V7, up to three more collars than a coulter. Later than that takes a high-clearance rig.
- Farm lighter ground where N doesn't stay put
- Want to split your N and carry it later
- Are tired of replacing coulters and bearings
It's a harder sell if you always sidedress early, have plenty of N in the system, and your corn doesn't run out in August. As Ferrie put it, if N isn't your limit, better placement won't show up in the bin.
Why timing matters
Corn's fastest N uptake runs from about V8 through silking. DeKalb's agronomy guide calls for drops from after V7 through pre-tassel, and names Y-DROP for pre-tassel passes because it places N near the plant base and reduces breakage.
Run the math on your place
Bring us your N program and how late you usually go. If a conversion doesn't pencil out, we'll say so.
Sources: Farm Journal Test Plots via AgWeb, 360 Yield Center and DeKalb Asgrow via Farm Progress.