David Marrison, Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent
To provide a source of objective information on the relative performance of short-season corn hybrids currently available to Ashtabula County Farmers.
| Cooperator: | Stan Ruck | Cooperator: | Brian Forman |
| Nearest Town: | Geneva | Nearest Town: | Geneva |
| Major Soil Type: | Platea silt loam | Major Soil Type: | Sheffield silt loam |
| Planting Date: | May 10, 2001 | Planting Date: | May 1, 2001 |
| Harvest Date: | November 13, 2001 | Harvest Date: | November 1, 2001 |
| Yield: | 178 bu/A (avg.) | Yield: | 152 bu/A (avg.) |
| Moisture: | 18.2% (avg.) | Moisture: | 20.5% (avg.) |
| Harvest Pop: | 26,500 plants/A (avg.) | Harvest Pop: | 26,792 plants/A (avg.) |
| Row Width: | 30 inch | Row Width: | 30 inch |
| Plot Width: | 6 rows | Plot Width: | 4 rows |
| Plot Length: | 1,125 feet | Plot Length: | 990 feet |
| Cooperator: | Bill Hurst | Cooperator: | Larry Woodard |
| Nearest Town: | Dorset | Nearest Town: | Cherry Valley |
| Major Soil Type: | Sheffield silt loam | Major Soil Type: | Platea silt loam |
| Planting Date: | May 7, 2001 | Planting Date: | April 30, 2001 |
| Harvest Date: | November 19, 2001 | Harvest Date: | November 1, 2001 |
| Yield: | 133 bu/A (avg.) | Yield: | 191 bu/A (avg.) |
| Moisture: | 19.2% (avg.) | Moisture: | 18.65% (avg.) |
| Harvest Pop: | 21,077 plants/A (avg.) | Harvest Pop: | 30,077 plants/A (avg.) |
| Row Width: | 30 inch | Row Width: | 34 inch |
| Plot Width: | 6 rows | Plot Width: | 4 rows |
| Plot Length: | 935 feet | Plot Length: | 810 feet |
| Cooperator: | Lester Marrison | ||
| Nearest Town: | Jefferson | ||
| Major Soil Type: | Sheffield silt loam | ||
| Planting Date: | May 6, 2001 | ||
| Harvest Date: | November 7, 2001 | ||
| Yield: | 160 bu/A (avg.) | ||
| Moisture: | 19.5% (avg.) | ||
| Harvest Pop: | 24,462 plants/A (avg.) | ||
| Row Width: | 36 inch | ||
| Plot Width: | 4 rows | ||
| Plot Length: | 850 feet | ||
This research project was designed to study the performance of short-season corn hybrids using five farms within the county as replicates. All hybrids submitted required less than 2,500 total growing degree-days (GDD) to reach physiological maturity.
Hybrids were randomly planted in field-length strips. Hybrids were planted with each cooperator's planter. Fertilizer, herbicides, and insecticides were applied according to recommended cultural practices for obtaining optimum grain yields. If space permitted, each host farm was permitted to put additional varieties in the plot.
The specific characteristics analyzed were grain yield, grain moisture at harvest, test weight, and gross return per bushel after corrections were made for drying costs and low test weights.
| Table 1. Hybrid Performance Across Farm Locations.1 | ||||
| Hybrid/(Maturity) | Yield2 | Test Weight | Moisture | GrossReturn3 |
| (bu/A) | (lbs/bu) | (%) | ($/A) | |
| Dekalb 46-26 (96) | 178.2 a | 57.2 bc | 19.2 cd | 343.42 |
| Pioneer 36B08 (103) | 176.6 ab | 57.0 bc | 20.7 f | 334.76 |
| Novartis N45-A6 (103) | 173.0 abc | 55.6 d | 20.0 e | 330.54 |
| Pioneer 37Y15 (99) | 171.0 abcd | 56.6 cd | 20.1 ef | 326.34 |
| Novartis N35-R7 (98) | 170.1 abcd | 55.6 d | 18.5 b | 330.36 |
| Pioneer 38T27 (96) | 163.6 bcde | 57.2 bc | 19.1 cde | 315.45 |
| Pioneer 38P05 (93) | 162.0 cdef | 58.0 ab | 18.6 bc | 314.07 |
| Croplan 384BT (95) | 160.5 cdefg | 56.8 c | 19.1 bcd | 309.65 |
| Croplan 373 (94) | 160.4 cdefg | 56.8 c | 19.7 de | 307.54 |
| Croplan 364 (94) | 158.4 defg | 56.8 c | 19.0 bc | 305.97 |
| Novartis N21V6 (85) | 149.2 efg | 58.0 ab | 17.7 a | 292.09 |
| Novartis N27-M3 (91) | 148.3 fg | 58.8 a | 19.1 bcd | 285.90 |
| Dekalb 39-45 (89) | 147.0 g | 57.6 bc | 17.7 a | 287.79 |
| LSD(0.05) | 14.5 | 1.09 | 0.68 | |
| F-test | 4.2 | 5.5 | 14.0 | |
| CV(%) | 7.0 | 1.5 | 2.8 | |
|
1 Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at P = 0.05. 2 Yields adjusted to 15.5% moisture. 3 Gross Return equals: $2.00 per bushel less discounts of 2 cents per point of moisture over 15.5% and 1 (53 lb.), 3 (52 lb.) cents for test weight under 54 lb. |
||||
Population means were not significantly different among hybrids with an average of 25,971 plants/A (F < 1, CV = 6.0%).
All 13 corn hybrids in the trial yielded higher than the 10-year county average of 106 bu/A and the five-year average of 116 bu/A. The overall average of 162 bu/A was remarkable, given the cool and wet growing season for Ashtabula County, especially in the month of July. Projected yields for the 2001 crop were estimated at 130 bu/A. DeKalb 46-26 and Pioneer 36B08 produced significantly higher yield than any hybrid with a yield less than 163 bu/A.
Significant differences were shown with moisture and test weight between hybrids.
Ashtabula County farms encounter fewer growing degree-days than most of the remainder of Ohio. The use of short-season hybrids potentially increases gross returns by reducing the cost of drying longer-season corns. Additionally, the shorter-season corn varieties usually can be harvested earlier in the fall when weather conditions are more favorable.
For additional information, contact:
David L. Marrison
Ohio State University Extension, Ashtabula County
39 Wall Street
Jefferson, OH 44047
440-576-9008
marrison.2@osu.edu