By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

WINDFALL, Ind. — In a field test of soybean hybrids in central Indiana, Kruger’s K-348RR/SCN narrowly outperformed the competition. The test was managed by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.).

The test plot on Steve Pierce’s Tipton County, Ind., farm featured well-drained silty clay loam, with a 0.5 percent slope.

Kruger was followed by Becks 383NRR and iCORN.com 3.45, respectively. Kruger yielded 72.2 bushels per acre, as compared to Becks with 71.2 and iCORN.com’s 69.1.

Gross income topped out at $793.80 with Kruger, $783.50 with Becks, and $760.50 with iCORN.com.

Approximately 210,000 seeds were planted on May 29, resulting in 205,600 stands on Oct. 21.

“The later planting date helped with emergence and final stand. Tall plant height (34 to 36 inches) led to lodging of some varieties. Steve had to replant some of the field around the plot three times,” said F.I.R.S.T. manager, Rich Schleuning.

The previous crop was corn treated with Roundup herbicide.
A complete listing of the test results can be found at www.firstseedtests.com

Schleuning recommended that producers take a look at the regional summaries located on the website for additional information.

He said checking the performance of hybrids against soil types that resemble theirs would provide valuable information.

“This year was probably one of the toughest years I have had with the way the spring, summer and fall turned out ... This was a good year to look at from a data standpoint,” Schleuning said.
Measuring the performance of the various hybrids against the tough weather conditions should give producers good information, he said.

“Many of the yields were better than anticipated,” he added.
“Early planting dates are key things, but with the weather planting early was not an option. We did everything we could do with the circumstances we had.”