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Crop Calculators

Plant Spacing Calculator

Find the plant-to-plant spacing that gives your target number of plants per acre.

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Know how many plants you want per acre but not how far apart to put them? Enter the target population and your row spacing, and this calculator gives the in-row spacing – plus the equivalent square spacing.

About the Plant Spacing Calculator

Crop recommendations are sometimes written as a population – "maintain 26,000–30,000 plants per acre" – rather than a spacing. And sometimes you want to keep your usual row spacing (to match your seed drill, cultivator or tractor wheels) and simply adjust the gap between plants.

This calculator takes the target population and works out the space each plant, or each hill, is allowed. Divide that by your row spacing and you have the distance between plants in the row.

To check the other direction – how many plants a given spacing produces – use the Plant Population Calculator.

How to use the Plant Spacing Calculator

  1. 1 Enter the plant population you want and choose per acre, per hectare or per square metre.
  2. 2 Enter the row spacing you will use.
  3. 3 If you leave more than one plant per hill, enter that number.
  4. 4 Press Calculate.

The formula we use

Plants per m² = Target per hectare ÷ 10,000
Area per hill (m²) = Plants per hill ÷ Plants per m²
In-row spacing = Area per hill ÷ Row spacing
Square spacing = √(Area per hill)

Worked example

You want 30,000 maize plants per acre with rows 60 cm apart, one plant per hill.

  1. 30,000 per acre = 7.41 plants per m².
  2. Area per plant = 1 ÷ 7.41 = 0.1349 m².
  3. In-row spacing = 0.1349 ÷ 0.60 = 0.2248 m = 22.5 cm.

So sowing at about 60 × 22.5 cm gives you 30,000 plants per acre (before losses). If you planted on a square grid instead, you would need about 36.7 cm each way.

Things to keep in mind

  • Allow for losses. Not every seed becomes a plant. If you want 30,000 plants at harvest, you may need to sow 5–10% more.
  • Machine settings. Seed drills and planters have fixed plate or gear options. Pick the setting closest to your calculated spacing.
  • Very small in-row spacings (under 2–3 cm) are only practical for drilled crops. The calculator warns you if the result looks unrealistic.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate plant spacing from population?

Divide the area by the number of plants to get area per plant, then divide by your row spacing. For 20,000 plants per acre at 75 cm rows: 4,046.86 ÷ 20,000 = 0.2023 m², ÷ 0.75 = 27 cm.

What spacing gives 1 lakh plants per hectare?

That is 10 plants per m², or 0.1 m² per plant. With 50 cm rows, the in-row spacing is 20 cm; with 45 cm rows it is about 22 cm.

Guides that use this calculator

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