By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

CELINA, Ohio — Extreme weather conditions tested the corn hybrids in a seed trial in Mercer County, Ohio this year.

The average yield in the full-season test was 147 bushels per acre, and the average moisture content was 17.5 percent. The early-season trial was similar. The average yield was 143.2 bu. per acre, and the average moisture content was 16.3 percent.

The test was conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) earlier this harvest season. The trial was on the Celina, Ohio farm of Keith Houtz. The field for this test featured a loam soil that was non-irrigated and well drained. Conventional tillage methods have been used.

F.I.R.S.T. manager Rich Schleuning planted the field on May 20 at a rate of 32,500 seeds per acre. He used 30-inch row spacing. On Nov. 5, he harvested an estimated 29,900 plants per acre.

“This site suffered from one extreme to another, a cool and wet spring followed by no rain from mid-June to late August,” Schleuning reported. “The late rains helped make a decent average.”

Still, he said, the yields could have been worse. The full-season test was won by Beck’s Hybrids 5779VT3 with an average of 158.5 bu. per acre. This variety has a moisture content of 17.4 percent, and it produced an estimated gross income per acre of $569. Winning the early-season trial was Campbell Seeds hybrid 682-76VT3 at 157.1 bu. per acre. This hybrid had a moisture content of 16.8 percent, and the estimated gross income per acre was $566.30.

“The technology in the hybrids have come a long way,” Schleuning explained.

A list of all the hybrids in this test is available at www.firstseedtests.com