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hommelix • today at 12:06 AM • 3 replies • view on HN

This is a great practical approach, but when you harvest the crop you get a mix of higher crop and lower crop. It is more difficult to sell some mix than a pure crop with known properties. Technically, it would be possible to build a harvester with two cutters at different heights to separate the crops, but I've never seen one.


Replies

benjiro29 • today at 12:12 AM

You forgot about the height. It will overshadow the smaller crop, and lack of sunlight on this smaller crop may simply not produce any ears as a result. Just a "balcony farmer" but that is what i have seen with most plants that are overshadowed by dense/taller plants.

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Retric • today at 12:14 AM

That’s true in generation 1, but breeding isn’t a single generation. You repeat things across generations until you find a stable mix.

saalweachter • today at 1:01 AM

You just raise the head.

You harvest the top crop, the one you want, cutting above the lower height, then go back through and make a second pass with the head lower.

You'll lose some of the lower crop, crushed under the wheels, but it was there as bonus anyway.