By KEVIN WALKER Michigan Correspondent MARSHALL, Mich. — Several tests for different corn varieties in southwestern Lower Michigan showed how different soil types and weather conditions can play on results. There were two tests in Marshall, at the farm of Jeff and Greg Fountain, and two other tests performed in Reading at the farm of Tom Schroeder. These were conducted by Farmers’ Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST), based out of Cary, Ill. One of the tests in Marshall was rejected due to ponding, said FIRST Test Site Manager Jason Beyers. There was an early-season and full-season test, of which the latter’s results were rejected. “We struggled with having good stand on that test because of the cold, and it rained right after we planted it,” he reported. “Cool, wet conditions on seedlings are always a problem.” Beyers contrasted the conditions at the Marshall site with Schroeder’s farm in Reading, which has sandy soil. “Reading was irrigated and was almost all sand. The reason they have an irrigator on that field is it won’t hold much water for very long. It’s not going to pond, but then if it’s dry weather, it tends not to hold enough water.” The rejected test in Marshall “wasn’t uniform enough to keep.” His written report said the plots started out “with a good stand. It was subjected to 2.5 weeks of hot, dry weather with very slow vegetative growth. Good conditions followed and it grew and pollinated well. “However, two months of very dry conditions after pollination hurt yield potential. Standability of these short plants was good. Some ponding in the full-season test hurt yield badly, leading to data rejection.” The top-yielding varieties for the early-season test were led by Golden Harvest G99T64-GT, with a yield of 161.3 bushels per acre, a moisture score of 14.6 percent and gross income of $516 per acre; it was also ranked No. 1 for gross income among all tested varieties. No. 2 was Great Lakes variety 5029VT2RIB, with a yield of 158.2 bushels, moisture of 15.7 percent and gross income of $503. Taking the third spot was Integra 4902VT2PRIB, with a yield of 158.2 bushels, moisture score of 15.8 percent and gross income of $502 per acre. These also ranked Nos. 2 and 3 for gross income. There were two seed trials in Reading, one an early-season and the other a full-season test. Beyers reported it’s a “variable sandy soil that is under center pivot irrigation. Everything emerged well, but corn height was variable at the VS growth stage (3- to 4-inch differences). “Pollination went well, filling out the ear to the tip. Ear tip die-back was noted on very few hybrids. Stalk quality was still excellent, but anthracnose was present in the plot. Foliar diseases were also present, but to a lesser extent.” For the early-season test, Rupp variety xrD97-95 took the top spot, with a yield of 226.5 bushels per acre, moisture of 19.8 percent and gross income of $692 per acre. Second was Great Lakes 4988VT2PRO, with a yield of 217.1 bushels, moisture score of 21.8 percent and gross income of $650. It ranked No. 3 for gross income. Taking the No. 3 yield spot was Golden Harvest variety G96V99-3120-EZR, with a yield of 213.4 bushels per acre, moisture of 19.6 percent and gross income of $653 per acre. It ranked second among the test’s seeds for gross income. For the full-season test, NuTech/G2 Gen 5F-504 took the top spot, yielding 213.9 bushels, with a moisture score of 24.5 percent and gross income of $624. Taking the No. 2 spot, Specialty variety 32A886 yielded 211.9 bushels, with a moisture score of 24.3 percent and gross income of $619 per acre. Taking the No. 3 spot for yield was M&W Seeds variety 44D81, with a yield of 210.5 bushels per acre, a moisture score of 27 percent and gross income of $598 per acre. It actually landed in the No. 8 spot for gross income. For a complete list of all brands tested and a searchable database of information, visit www.firstseedtests.com |
