By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

WOODBURN, Ind. — On an early-season corn test in Allen County, in northern Indiana, Ebberts X2008VT3* produced the best yield in wet conditions this year, according to Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST).

Ebberts yielded 263.7 bushels and $902.50 in gross income per acre on Rex Coomer’s farm. The other companies performed similarly to one another. The next top performers were Great Lakes 5783G3VT3 and Heritage 8390VT3, with 257.4 and 256.9 bushels, respectively. In gross income, however, they traded places.

Heritage earned $883.10, while Great Lakes followed with $881.60.
G2 Genetics 5X-711 also had a good showing with 255.9 bushels and $873.90 per acre.

Moisture level hovered around 22 percent, which was a factor, said FIRST manager Rich Schleuning.

“Getting the crop in this spring was tough with the wet conditions this year,” he said.

The 36,500 seeds per acre were planted on May 22 and harvested on Nov. 11.

The previous crop was soybeans treated with glyphosate.
The soil on the Rex Coomer farm, who owns this plot, was a Hoytville-Nappanee silty clay. Minimum tillage was used on the field, and it was well drained and non-irrigated.

Full-season test

In the full-season test performed on the same farm, NuTech Seed 5N-213+ beat out the competition with the highest yield and gross income per acre: 245.3 bushels and $808.90.

LG Seeds LG2555VT3 yielded 242.1 bushels, while Campbell 682-76VT3 produced 240.2 bushels, which were both well above average for the test.

In gross income, however, Dyna-Gro V4993VT3 ranked second in performance with $805.10, while generating only 236.8 bushels per acre. LG Seeds ranked third with $799.50.

Rainy fields continued to affect the outcome of the tests. “On the late-season test, there were some reduced stands from the heavy rains that packed the soil. Yields were good considering the conditions this year,” Schleuning said.

There were 45 hybrids tested at this location. A list of all the hybrids in this trial is available at www.firstseedtests.com