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Grain
Performance Tests Provide Important Data | |
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“I encourage farmers to look at as much data as they can. The more data you have the better informed you are and the decision making process becomes easier. We also encourage farmers to look at two and three year averages when possible.” William
Pearce, |
By Laura Skillman PRINCETON,
Results
of the 2004 field trials for corn and soybeans can be found at the UK Grain
Crops Web site, http://www.uky.edu/Ag/GrainCrops.
Printed copies
will be at county offices of the UK Cooperative Extension Service this month. The
objective of performance-testing programs is to provide data on seed sold in the
state. Every effort is made to conduct the tests in an unbiased manner according
to accepted agronomic practices. Using
the corn yield trial data is one source of information farmers can consider as
they look to their seed needs for the coming year, said William Pearce, Pearce
encourages the farming community to look at some of the newer hybrids even if
they believe a particular company is meeting their needs. One never knows what
hybrid might fit into a farming operation. “I
encourage farmers to look at as much data as they can,” he said. “The more
data you have the better informed you are and the decision making process
becomes easier. We also encourage farmers to look at two and three year averages
when possible.” With
high input costs, farmers need to maximize yields to maintain profitability,
Pearce said. In
the corn testing trials, hybrids chosen were those most likely to be available
in the coming year. All corn was
planted using no-till practices. The hybrids were tested in five categories:
early (112 days or less), medium (113-117 days to maturity) and late (118 days
or later) maturities and white and TC Blend High Oil hybrids. There were 116
yellow corn varieties, nine white corn and eight TC high oil corn varieties
tested this year. Each
corn hybrid was grown at seven locations (four farm and three university sites)
in three replications, except for high oil corn that was grown on three
locations. For some hybrids two and three years’ worth of data is available. Getting
more than one or two years' of data on a particular corn or soybean variety can
be difficult, said Eugene Lacefield, UK agronomist and soybean performance test
coordinator. That’s because today, companies add new varieties to replace
others at a rapid pace. This
year’s soybean trials included nearly 200 varieties of which the vast majority
was Roundup Ready. This gives farmers an opportunity to select new varieties
each year and keep on the cutting edge of varietal development. These tests were
conducted at five locations with two replications and three maturity groups at
each site. Some conventional, experimental and novel special-purpose varieties
also were evaluated. Lacefield
said looking at a single location’s data is not a very valuable tool for
farmers to consider when making a decision. He recommends they review the
summary data that includes information on a variety’s performance average
across years and locations. “This
gives them the best estimate of the yield potential of a variety,” he said. By
reviewing the variety trial data, a farmer can make a judgment on what variety
to use to gain maximum yield and that translates into more money in his back
pocket, Lacefield said.
-30- Writer: Laura Skillman 270-365-7541 ext. 278 Source: William Pearce, 859-257-1874; Eugene Lacefield, 859-257-2993 Return to Main News page. |