By ANN HINCH
Assistant Editor

LEIPSIC, Ohio — Rain and low temperatures made it tough for corn to thrive on a northwestern Ohio test plot this year, resulting in yields below 180 bushels per acre.

In an early season test on Lee Newcomer’s farm in Putnam County, Stewart hybrid 7K285 fared best with 176.9 bushels per acre, followed by Rupp hybrid XR8045 at 170.1. Coming in third with 163 bushels was Dairyland hybrid 9006.

Gross income followed the same pattern, with a per-acre income of $850.80, $827.50 and $811.40 for the Stewart, Rupp and Dairyland hybrids, respectively. One noteworthy observation is that the Rupp hybrid developed 27.7 percent lodging, significantly higher than the 2 percent for Stewart and 1 percent for Dairyland.

This trial was conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) on well-drained sandy loam with a 0.5 percent slope, using conventional till method. The soil had previously hosted Roundup soybeans.

F.I.R.S.T. test manager for the Northeast Corn Belt Rich Schleuning observed in his report that conditions were far from ideal for this site.

He wrote that heavy rain and cold temperatures reduced the corn’s final stand and set the crop back in development. Conversely, hot and dry conditions in July and August, with high winds, lodged the crop, and stalk quality ended up being poor because anthracnose and charcoal rot were present.

“This year was probably one of the toughest years I would have since doing this, with the spring, the summer and then the way the fall turned out – which actually for my areas, turned out fairly well - for the tough conditions,” Schleuning summarized.

“I would say overall this year, if I had to put it on a scale basis, I would put it as a 9 as far as being poor and the other years being a 3 … with 9 being worst. I would say this year was one of the worst.”
The 30 early season corn varieties tested were seeded in late May at 32,000 seeds per acre, and harvested on Oct. 23 at 27,100 plants per acre. Late season varieties (shown at left) were planted at the same density and harvested on the same dates, with more plants at the end of the season – 29,600 per acre.

For the late season test, Stine hybrid 9623VT3 outperformed all others, but only at 144.9 bushels per acre. Coming in second was Great Lakes hybrid 5995BtRW at 144.1 bushels, and third was AgriGold hybrid A6489VT3, with 143.4.

Stine grossed $668.50 per acre; curiously, it was the lowest of the top three, despite producing the most bushels per acre. Great Lakes grossed the most, at $708.60, with AgriGold trailing at $681.60. These and the 27 other late season varieties were planted in the same type of soil as that hosting the early season test patches.

“I would say it’d be a good year to get the information of what took place this year, versus the weather conditions and weather patterns,” Schleuning remarked. “(From) a data standpoint,” farmers can best mark the seeds’ “performance, and what performance hybrids will do and what performance hybrids can handle now, compared to years past.”

He noted that early planting dates are still key for a good corn crop, but that wasn’t really an option in 2008, given the spring’s odd weather patterns.