Because no one can predict next year's growing conditions, it's a good idea to choose hybrids that perform well over multiple locations within a region. Hybrids that consistently perform well over multiple environments, including different soil and weather conditions, have greater potential to perform well the next year compared to hybrids with less consistence performance.
Read on to learn more about how different seeds performed during recent university trials.
The Ohio State University
The purpose of the Ohio Crop Perfomance Trials is to evaluate varieties, brands and blends for yield and other characteristics.
Click here to view Ohio State trial results.
University of Minnesota
The results of the 2012 University of Minnesota corn, grain and silage trials are now available. Results are based on replicated trials conducted at multiple locations across Minnesota to provide growers and agronomists with an unbiased source of information on hybrid performance.
Growers are encouraged to select hybrids based on trial results from multiple sources, including other university results, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, seed companies, and on-farm strip trials.
Results from unbiased and replicated trials that include multiple hybrids from a number of sources are of particular importance.
Click here to view University of Minnesota trial results.
University of Wisconsin
Every year, the University of Wisconsin – Extension and the University of Wisconsin's Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences conduct a corn evaluation program in cooperation with the Wisconsin Crop Improvement Association.
The purpose of this program is to provide unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed corn for both grain and silage available in Wisconsin.
In 2012, grain and silage performance trials were planted at 14 locations in four production zones: the southern, south central, north central, and northern zones. Both seed companies and university researchers submitted hybrids.
Click here to view University of Wisconsin trial results.
Penn State
The 2012 PDMP/Penn State silage hybrid testing program generated useful data for hybrid performance evaluations.
Weather conditions varied across the tests, with many experiencing some drought stress in late June, and then often favorable conditions for recovery in late summer. Some sites did not recover as well as others. This was somewhat representative of silage fields in the state overall.
The team was able to harvest a full complement of test sites this year. Several changes to the program were implemented based on input from the group's advisory team. The laboratory partner changed to Cumberland Valley Analytical Services, which used NIR methods to assess the samples in the test.
The research team also developed an individual spreadsheet file for each location this year and changed the format of the reports to make them easier to read, adding estimated rainfall and GDD data for each site on the background tab of each file.
Also added was an independent estimate of each hybrid's maturity based on an equation developed from the harvest moisture and the company ratings of maturity of the hybrids in the test. This allows users to judge the maturity of a hybrid in the program using a consistent maturity rating.
Ideally, hybrids should be evaluated relative to other hybrids of the same relative maturity, within 1-2 days of another.
Click here to view Penn State's trial results. FG
