"the corn plant has an extensive root system that permits it to draw moisture and nutrients from a wide area. this is yet another factor in corn's high yield. the extensive root system demands relatively wide spacing between plants, which is why there are fewer plants per plot as compared with other cereals."
corn and capitalism by arturo warman p.17.
not with dense yellow number two arturo...the top photo is of some support roots on some field corn in the trusty field off county line road and those plants aren't more than a foot apart in that metropolis of corn...that's where pioneer ( in this field anyway...bayer, monsanto...lots of players in the industry...industrial food is profitable) comes into play...modifying the genetic make-up of the corn so it will tolerate being this close together...science and petrochemicals to the rescue of humanity...for now anyway...the third photo is of some soybeans that are nearing harvest time...not quite done yet but soon...the fourth photo is of the dual monoculture ( everything about industrial agriculture is schizoid) of today's modern farm...feedstock for any number of processes...better living through chemistry...which is true i suppose...but if this field is natural in its use of chemical nutrients ( even if they are sprayed on instead of naturally occurring ) the genes in it aren't...domestication through artificial selection for plant traits is genetic engineering...humans have been at it for thousands of years...but those mutations weren't spliced in in a lab...they happened in a field plowed and fertilized by animals...and no-one owned a patent on them or told someone they couldn't save seed for next year...things have changed in ten millennia...the bottom photo is of the support roots on the northern tepehuan teosinte in my back yard...just for the sake of comparison and so i could take another photo of my plant.
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