By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

SALEM, Ill. — Flooding shortly after planting, extremely dry conditions in July and August, then strong winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September all added to the challenging mix that farmers faced during this past growing season.

The weather, likewise, challenged the corn hybrid tests conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) in the Southern Illinois region.

F.I.R.S.T. planted test hybrids at six locations in this region: Belleville, DuQuoin, Flora, Jewett, Salem and Vandalia. Due to post-application of a glyphosate herbicide, all of the hybrids were lost at the Vandalia location.

The yields at the remaining sites were better than expected, in many cases.

In Jewett, farmer George Holsapple was thrilled with the yields he saw, which averaged 212.1 bushels per acre between the 54 corn hybrids tested on his fields. “These high yields just make my day,” he added. “These are the highest corn yields I have ever seen on my farm.”

F.I.R.S.T. manager Eric Beyers said the test plots in Flora, Jewett and Salem all had to be replanted due to wet spring weather. He reported that root lodging was a problem at all of the sites. “Most hybrids had some lodging,” he explained.

Nevertheless, the average yield among the five tested sites was 198 bu./acre.

Hybrids from Crow’s, Midwest Seed and DeKalb topped the early-season test at the six sites of the Southern Illinois regional trail.
Crow’s hybrid 4826VT3 produced an average yield of 208.7 bu./acre between the tested locations. The Crow’s product won the test site in Jewett, Ill. with an average of 238.1 bu./acre.

Overall, the hybrid had an estimated gross income per acre of $994.80. Its moisture level averaged 19.7 percent, and its lodging score was 16.8 percent.

Midwest Seed hybrid 76996VT3 was second with an average yield of 207.8 bu./acre. This Midwest Seed product finished a close second at the Jewett, Ill. trial with 238 bu./acre.

This hybrid had an estimated gross income per acre of $1,004.20. Its moisture level was at 18.3 percent, and its lodging score was 20.5 percent.

DeKalb hybrid DKC61-69 was third with an average yield of 207.4 bu./acre.

In the late-season test, hybrids from Kruger, Brown Enterprises and Trisler topped the charts.

Kruger hybrid K-5116YGCB finished first with an average yield of 208.3 bu./acre.

The hybrid won the seed trial in DuQuoin, Ill. with an average yield of 214.3 bu./acre. The Kruger product had an estimated gross income of $967.20. Its moisture level was 22.1 percent, and its lodging score was 14.6 percent.

Brown Enterprises hybrid 730VT3 was second at 205.9 bu./acre, and Trisler hybrid T-8N52PLRR came in third with an average of 205.8 bu./acre.

A list of all of the hybrids in this test is available at www.firstseedtests.com