Hybrid selection is one of the most important management decisions a corn grower makes each year. Corn growers are confronted with the difficult task of selecting three to four hybrids from about 100 varieties offered by over 20 companies.
Significant effort is required to sort through the confusing array of numbers and yields. To simplify hybrid selection, the process may be divided into eight steps that generate logical hybrid selections and increased corn profits.
Step 1). Analyze the role of corn on the farm. Pinpoint special corn hybrid traits needed in an operation. Do you have a market for grain or silage? Are fields plagued with viral diseases or gray leaf spot? Do billbug problems and no-till demand that hybrids grow off quickly? Write down priorities.
Step 2). Ask for product information describing agronomic traits (yield, standability, maturity, disease ratings, grain quality, seedling vigor, etc.) of hybrids grown in local tests. Attend meetings where seed suppliers describe strengths and weaknesses of products.
Step 3). Obtain hybrid data from independent sources. Call a Cooperative Extension agent and ask for N.C. State University’s statewide corn variety testing results. Growers should ask for results of county tests with hybrid comparisons and a summary of state and local yield contests. Make a list of hybrids that consistently rank among the best.
Step 4). Discuss corn hybrid performance with seed dealers, grain buyers and fellow farmers. Everyone has strong opinions about corn hybrids. Growers shouldn’t give great credence to individual comments about hybrids, but notice those with good reviews from several experienced corn people.
Step 5). Make a list of hybrids that repeatedly are at the top of yield comparisons and summaries. Try to identify hybrids that perform well under diverse management regimes on many farms. Good hybrids won’t always win yield contests and comparisons but will appear among leading entries. Hybrid performance may vary with seasonal conditions and soil types. Growers should be wary of new hybrids that may perform atypically in their first year.
Step 6). Eliminate from consideration hybrids that don’t meet special requirements of your operation. Use notes taken at company-sponsored meetings, any hybrid literature obtained in Step 2 and information gathered locally in Step 4 to cull hybrids from the list that aren’t suits to your style of corn farming.
Step 7). Choose from the hybrids remaining on your short list. Review your information and notes to ensure you selected hybrid maturities that adequately spread the harvest.
Step 8). Conduct your own hybrid comparisons. Each year, select four to six promising hybrids and evaluate them on your farm with your management practices. The best procedure for grower testing of hybrids is the strip test, where each hybrid tested is grown adjacent to a common “tester” hybrid. The strip test, with tester hybrids, permits any yield data collected to be adjusted for soil variability. If not using a tester, growers should place the hybrids beside the hybrid that has performed best for you in the past. Growers conducting their own hybrid evaluations must remember to select uniform test fields with minimal soil variability and restrict comparisons to hybrids of the same maturity. On-farm hybrid evaluations are simple for growers who use combine-mounted GPS receivers and yield monitors to create GIS yield maps. Corn producers with yield monitors will find it easy to compare several hybrids at multiple farm sites.
The Link LonkMarch 22, 2021 at 08:44AM
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8 steps for logical corn hybrid selection outlined - Wilkes Journal Patriot
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