By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

GREENSBURG, Ind. — With a yield of 82.8 bushels per acre, an Ebberts soybean seed variety topped a recent Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) test on a farm in Decatur County, Ind.

Ebberts 2300RR2, with a moisture content of 9.3 percent, had an estimated gross income of $900.40 per acre, the only variety to top $900 in the test. Finishing second in the test was Beck’s XL 325NR, which had a yield of 81 bushels per acre. The Beck’s seed had an estimated gross income of $879.80 per acre.

The farm of Gordon and Jeff Smiley has silt loam soil and is well-drained and non-irrigated. A no-till system was used with Roundup. The crop for at least the past two years was corn treated with Lumax and Force. The field reportedly had a high content of phosphorus and potassium.

“This test location had heavy rain with some ponding in areas, which set the crop back,” reported Rich Schleuning, F.I.R.S.T. manager. “Some varieties retained dead leaves, making for a hard feed into the cylinder.”

Schleuning planted the field May 10 at a rate of 185,000 seeds an acre. Harvest was Sept. 25, at a rate of 165,200 seeds per acre.
“Some light lodging was noted in some varieties,” Schleuning reported. “Bean size was small, with top pods having no or BB-sized beans, indicative of a dry late season.”

Beck’s XL 362NR came in third in the test with 79.3 bushels per acre, and Beck’s XL 357NR was fourth with 78.9 bushels. Ebberts 1365RR was fifth with 78.7 bushels per acre. Channel 3502R2 was sixth, also with 78.7 bushels per acre.

The average yield was 71.8 bushels per acre for the 36 varieties tested. The average moisture content was 9 percent, and average gross income per acre was $781.

For a complete list of brands tested, go online to www.firstseedtests.com