By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

LaCROSSE, Ind. — Channel varieties earned three of the top six spots in a soybean seed test in northern Indiana recently.

The test was conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) on the LaPorte County, Ind. farm of Myron Schafer.

The winning hybrid was Channel 2903R2 with an average yield of 85.6 bushels per acre. The moisture content for this variety was 9.5 percent, and the estimated gross income per acre was $930.50. Channel 3303R2 was fourth at 81.8 bushels per acre, and Channel 3000R2 was sixth at 81.3 bushels per acre.

Schafer’s farm has sandy loam soil. The field was well drained and non-irrigated. Conventional tillage in the fall was used, and Roundup was applied to the field twice. F.I.R.S.T. Manager Rich Schleuning planted the field at a rate of 185,000 seeds per acre on May 11, and he harvested 176,000 seeds per acre on Sept. 27.

He was pleased with the overall performance of this test. The average yield for all 42 varieties in the test was 75.8 bushels per acre, and the moisture content was at 9.7 percent. He said the plants stood tall and healthy despite some dry months.

“There was a lot of forage to thrash as bean height was up to 55 inches tall,” Schleuning said. “Lodging was not an issue with the tall crop as plants stood nicely at harvest.”

The previous crop on this field was corn treated with Bicep II Magnum.

“Some varieties still had green leaves and light-green stems,” Schleuning reported. “There was no evidence of diseases observed.”

Finishing second in the test was Ebberts 2300RR2* at 82.9 bushels per acre. Diener 3012CR2 had the third-best yield at 82.5 bushels per acre. Steyer 2801R2* came in fifth position at 81.6 bushels per acre.

For a complete list of brands tested and a searchable database of information, visit www.firstseedtests.com