By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER Ohio Correspondent
GALVA, Ill. — Yielding 245.3 bushels to the acre, Dyna-Gro D52VP20 was tops in a 2011 full-season corn test on Al Johnston’s Knox County farm. Gross income was $1,635.50 an acre.
Coming in second was Great Lakes 6354G3VT3, yielding 243.8 bushels per acre with a gross income of $1,624.30. Close behind was Heritage 4662GENVTP3P with a yield of 243.4 bushels and a gross income of $1,633.80.
The test was conducted by Farmers Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) and Eric Beyers was the site manager. The previous crop on the field was corn. Soil was Muscatine silty clay loam, moderately well-drained, strip-tilled and non-irrigated. Pest management used was Harness Xtra, 2,4-D, Cadet, Atrazine, Roundup UltraMax and Headline.
The seeds were planted on May 10 at a rate of 36,600 to the acre. The stands were harvested on Oct. 3, with 34,400 plants to the acre. Johnston said he was excited to have such tremendous corn yields from last season.
Johnston’s strip-till system worked well especially with the corn-on-corn crop, Beyers said. He cleared an eight-inch strip in the fall and applied fertilizer. He did not have to work the ground in the spring and so, did not lose moisture.
“Everything stayed put,” Beyers said. “He didn’t compact it. He just planted right in it. The strip-tiller does a good job; the placement of the fertilizer into that furrow, it was just where it needed to be. “The plants were remarkably shorter that the other sites I had,” Beyers added. “I would attribute that to the fact that he did not have the excessive rain in June that surrounding areas did. He also did not have the extreme heat that far north. He had excellent yields.”
In an early-season test on the same farm Bo-Jac variety 9460 led the field with a yield of 246.9 bushels to the acre and a gross income of $1,683.20 an acre. Second-highest yielder was Channel 210-57STX with 241.8 bushels per acre. It grossed $1,634. Great Heart HT-120VT3p had the third-highest yield, 241 bushels to the acre and a gross income of $1,621.30 an acre. |
