October 29, 2004

Purdue corn performance trials good to the last crop

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Indiana farmers are harvesting big corn crops this fall, and Purdue University agronomists know just how they feel.

While Hoosier farmers are on pace to produce a record average 167 bushels of corn per acre, Purdue agronomists harvested average yields of 220-230 bushels an acre on many research plots during Purdue's annual corn performance trials.

Purdue analyzed about 200 conventional and genetically modified corn hybrids for yield, test weight, grain moisture content, lodging and standability. Nearly 40 seed companies provided seed for the Purdue trials.

Results from the 2004 field trials appear on the Purdue Crop Performance Program Web site.

The high yields that trial plots produced came as a pleasant surprise, said Phil DeVillez, Purdue agronomist and field trial coordinator.

"On our combine we have a weigh bucket system, and that system can measure up to 50 pounds of corn," DeVillez said. "From that weigh bucket you can do calculations to determine bushels per acre. This year, for the first time, we saw 40-pound weights in our weigh bucket. Then the next one would be 39 pounds, and then the next one was 40 pounds again. We saw some terrific yields."

Field trial plots were planted at 12 Purdue-owned and private farms as far north as Valparaiso, Ind., and as far south as Washington, Ind. The first seeds went into the ground on April 19, with the final acres seeded the first week in May. Hybrids were planted in four-row plots, with only the middle two rows counted toward test data. Common fertilizer and tillage practices were used, and similar maturing varieties tested together, to ensure fair comparisons.

The Purdue plots were harvested between Sept. 20 and Oct. 11.

Favorable weather during most of the growing season, along with low incidence of insects and crop diseases, made for fast-growing, healthy test plots, DeVillez said.

"We got a very early start with planting, so the plants were able to get a good start," he said. "The moisture levels of the corn that we harvested were some of the best numbers we've ever seen. We saw a lot of tests that averaged 98 percent stand, which is great.

"Not only did we get great emergence and stand establishment, but we also had virtually no lodging. We didn't see any pest pressure, either. There were some reports of northern leaf blight around the state, but I don't think it was enough to do any economic damage. As far as conditions go, they were nearly perfect."

In general, mid-maturity hybrids - those ready for harvest within 107-110 days of planting - provided the highest profit potential, DeVillez said. Late-maturing varieties - 111-113 days - yielded slightly better but earned less because of artificial drying costs, he said.

DeVillez cautioned farmers to examine hybrid performance at multiple test sites before drawing any conclusions.

"The message for farmers is, look at lots of data. Don't focus too much on a single site," he said. "Look for consistency. I like to use a phrase we call the 'Triple D' - data-driven decisions. The relationship with your seed dealer is important and the trust factor is important, but when it comes down to making money and a profit, you need to be based in science and data."

Farmers who visit the Purdue Crop Performance Program home page will find new features and more user-friendly data, DeVillez said.

"We've revamped our Web site this year," he said. "We're going to have a search engine available. That will allow the farmer to pick their two favorite hybrids and compare those head-to-head.

"Another feature this year is we've posted all of our summary tables in Excel. The advantage of having them in Excel is that farmers can download the information to their Excel spreadsheets and then sort it however they want. If they want to see if a certain seed treatment has an advantage, then they can sort it by seed treatment. If they're looking at moisture and the driest hybrid, they can sort by that column, too."

A printed version of the Purdue corn performance trial results will be released by Thanksgiving. Check with a local office of Purdue Extension for more information.

Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu

Source: Phil DeVillez, (765) 494-0406, pld@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

Related Web site:
Purdue University Department of Agronomy

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