High Population Hybrid May Double Corn Yields

High Population Hybrid May Double Corn Yields AG WORLD Ag World 19-1-5 A new high population corn hybrid, available ih limited quantities for next season, could double yields for anyone willing to increase inputs and spend the time managing the crop. "It's not for everybody," admits Duane Bell, plant breeder at Pro Seed, Blissfield, Mich., who's been working on the new hybrid - called 2830 HYPOP - since 1985. "At the high population levels we're talking about, you've got to be ready for some pretty intense management if 2830 HYPOP sounds like something you'd like to try. For example, at the 45,000 to 50,000 seed per acre seeding rate the company recommends, the hybrid requires 30 to 50% more N, P and K and secondary nutrients than you'd normally use. Also, because the corn must be drilled, extra effort is required to calibrate your drill to get population and seed placement exactly even - every 13 to 14 in. in 7 1/2 in. rows. If seed is distributed too sparsely you'll get plants with a few huge ears on them. Plant too densely and you'll get no ears at all. Also, the hybrid costs $50 per bag and one bag plants one acre. Altogether, higher input costs mean you'll need to realize about a 15% yield increase to break even, ac-cording to Bell. Still, when everything worked perfectly in on-farm tests last season, the full-season 110-day hybrid's performance was impressive. In one test, yields increased 49%, up to 316 bu/a. Standability was excellent, as was ease of combining. The hybrid was developed through genetic manipulation and conventional plant breeding. It has a less bushy root, shorter plant inner nodes, and carries an ear about 30 to 36 in. off the ground. "It's not a panacea and it's not a miracle," Bell says, "but we feel it offers the potential to double yields under the right conditions and management." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pro Seed Inc., 236 Sugar St., P.O. Box 55, Bliss0eld, Mich. 49228 (ph 517 486-3520). (Jim Houtsma, Associate Editor)

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.