Farm Journal Test Plots: How the Right Hybrid Pays Off
How important is it to pick the right hybrid for each field? A 2021 Farm Journal study suggests the correct selection can increase revenue by as much as $88 per acre. And you can gain even more profit by managing that hybrid properly.
Defensive Zones
The study involves a 318-acre field, farmed in a no-till vertical environment with no compaction layers to limit water uptake.
Around 200 acres (64%) are light soil with lower organic matter and Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT) values, meaning the soil has less water-holding capacity and is less able to supply nitrogen (N) during the growing season.
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie treats these areas as “defensive” management zones, requiring lower plant populations, higher N rates and defensive hybrid selection.
The remaining 114 acres in the field are heavier “offensive” soils, which can support more plants per acre.
“The defensive soils in this field run out of water during grain fill, in normal to dry years,” Ferrie says. “The offensive soils handle dry conditions most years without losing much yield.”
In other fields, “defensive” could refer to issues such as PH or the presence of disease.
The study mimicked decisions corn growers must make about hybrid selection, population and fertility. It compared two hybrids, one offensive and one defensive (both selected with the help of Wyffels and AgriGold seed experts), planted at 32,000 and 35,000 plants per acre. Nitrogen was sidedressed the first week of June, using an Unverferth bar, bringing total application to 240 lb., 270 lb. and 300 lb.
A Corn Grower’s Goal
“As producers, we want to capture 97% or more of available sunlight by the time the plant reaches the VT (tasseling) stage, and then turn it into grain,” Ferrie explains. “Capturing sunlight is a function of plant height and leaf characteristics.”
The taller the hybrid, the more sunlight it can capture. Hybrids with more pendulum-type horizontal leaves capture more light at lower populations, he says, so look for that kind of hybrid for defensive soils. In offensive zones, choose upright hybrids that respond to increased population.
A farmer’s first decision is what hybrid to plant. Because the majority of the study field contains defensive soil, the answer proved to be a defensive hybrid.
The study showed if the defensive hybrid was planted on every acre at the recommended population of 32,000 plants per acre, it would have produced $88 more revenue per acre than the offensive hybrid planted at its recommended population of 35,000.
Right Hybrids = High Revenue
The study showed how managing each hybrid can increase revenue. All examples are based on 2022 values of 90¢ per pound for N, $300 per bag for seed and $7 per bushel for corn. The revenue numbers reflect increased income minus cost of additional seed and fertilizer. Here are key findings:
- In defensive management zones, the defensive hybrid at 32,000 plants and 240 lb. of N per acre created $113 more revenue than the offensive hybrid at 35,000 plants per acre.
- In offensive zones, the offensive hybrid at 35,000 plants per acre at the 240 lb. N rate produced $107 more revenue per acre than the defensive hybrid at 35,000 population. This shows the defensive hybrid did not respond to higher population.
- In offensive zones increasing the population to 35,000 and the N to 300 lb. per acre increased revenue for the offensive hybrid by $398 per acre. “That response occurred partly because the additional nitrogen helped delay plant death due to tar spot disease and the extra nitrogen extended the grain-fill period,” Ferrie says. “Throughout the plot, the biggest factor in increasing revenue was nitrogen rate, not population.”
By placing the right hybrid in the right field and zone — and managing it properly — farmers can greatly increase yield and revenue. - The study showed if an operator planted each hybrid at its recommended population in the appropriate management zone (using a multi-hybrid planter) and increased the N rate to 270 lb. per acre in the defensive soils, it would improve the return by $112 per acre.
- Higher N rates helped both varieties withstand the effect of tar spot, which robs nutrients from plants, and also improved standability.
- The defensive hybrid did not respond to increased population. “In fact, higher population decreased yield, indicating more plants did not capture more light but just added stress,” Ferrie says.
- The defensive hybrid responded to higher N rates, regardless of planting population.
- The offensive hybrid responded to higher population. “It captured more light as the population increased,” Ferrie says.
- The offensive hybrid also responded to higher N rates. “Part of that response resulted from how the hybrid flexes ear size,” Ferrie says. “Kernel size is reduced if the plant is left wanting for nitrogen during the last 30 days of grain fill.”
“The study shows picking the right hybrid for each field is the biggest factor in maximizing revenue,” Ferrie summarizes. “If you can plant different hybrids in defensive and offensive management zones, you can push revenue even higher.
“Every hybrid you buy should be targeted to individual field or management zone,” Ferrie adds. “The days of backing up to the shed and loading your planter from the pallet of seed closest to the door are over.”
Thank You to Our Plot Partners
Farm Journal test plots result from the contributions of many people and companies. We express our sincere appreciation to the partners who assisted with this study: AgReliant Genetics/AgriGold, Wyffels Hybrids, Case IH, Kinze Manufacturing, New Holland Agriculture, Precision Planting, Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Yetter Farm Equipment, Mike Craig
