By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

CARLISLE, Ind. — Mycogen 2V732 yielded the highest bushels per acre in a full-season Sullivan County corn seed test plot about two months ago.

The Mycogen product produced 203.7 bushels per acre worth an estimated $848.60 of gross income, with a moisture level of 22.8 percent. Conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) at Jeff Mann’s farm, the test plot’s soil was sandy clay loam that was well-drained, conventional without fall tillage and non-irrigated.

The southern Indiana plot was rated moderate potassium and phosphorous, with a 6.4 pH and a 2.1 percent OM. The full-season test plot was planted at 33,000 seeds per acre on April 21, and harvested on Sept. 13 at 31,000 plants per acre.

In the same plot, the second highest-yielding variety was Stewart 7T344, which produced 202 bushels per acre, worth an estimated $844 of gross income, and with a moisture level of 22.4 percent.
The third highest-yielding variety was Channel 214-14VT3P, which produced 199.3 bushels per acre, worth an estimated $811.70 of gross income, with a moisture level of 25.9 percent.

Rich Schleuning, F.I.R.S.T. manager, said rain totals were 3.6 inches in July and 0.6 inch in August, with low yields being attributed to the high heat in July and August and low August rainfall.

“Some stalk rot was apparent but (with) low overall occurrence,” he said. “Good ear retention was observed.”

In another full-season corn test plot, located at Bob Wesner’s farm at Elnora in Daviess County, Ind., the highest-yielding acre was Dyna-Gro 57V40. It produced 191.1 bushels per acre, worth an estimated $839.50 of gross income, with a moisture level of 21.9 percent.

Dyna-Gro was also the fifth highest-yielding acre, producing 179.1 bushels per acre worth an estimated $791.40 of gross income, with a moisture level of 21.7 percent.

The second highest-yielding variety on the Wesner farm was Golden Harvest H-9138 3000GT, which produced 184.4 bushels per acre at an estimated $799, with a moisture level of 23.9 percent. The third-highest yielder from this plot was Garst 83S06-3000GT, which produced 183.2 bushels per acre at an estimated $779.50, at a moisture level of 26.5 percent.

Schleuning said heavy rainfall in April and May in this plot, however, reduced final stands. “Yields were variable but it did not correlate to final stands,” he said. “Early-season wet and late-season hot, dry weather heavily impacted results.

“There was some foliar disease present (gray leaf and northern corn leaf blight),” he added. “Many products still had green stalks at harvest.”

The top 30 performers in these test plots are published in the charts to the right. For test details, visit www.firstseedtests.com