Corn Hybrid Preview
CornSouth ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC
Southern Production & Marketing Strategies
A Supplement to Cotton Farming and The Peanut Grower Magazines
November 2020
CornSouth That’s A Big, Big Boat Savannah, Georgia, is one of my favorite places to visit. Besides the city’s storied history and picturesque riverfront, the Savannah port has quietly become one of the largest on the EastAmanda Huber ern Seaboard. Editor According to the Georgia Ports Authority, the Savannah port now features 74.4 million square feet of industrial space covering 1,345 acres with 36 ship-to-shore cranes. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will deepen the river to 47 feet at low tide, and the Mason Mega Rail Terminal Project will double rail capacity to 2 million 20-foot equivalent container units or TEUs annually. To underscore the prominence of the Savannah harbor, it was recently visited by the largest ship ever to cruise into a U.S. East Coast port. This ship, the CMA CGM Brazil, holds 15,072 TEUs. I wish I could have been there to see this colossal ship guided by the tugboats coming down the Savannah River to make berth. What got me thinking about Savannah’s port was the corn market news for 2020. Nearly one-third of the global corn market is supplied by the Unites States, and it is good news that China is again booking corn purchases because of tight supplies there. Here in the United States, a recovering economy with plants reopening and travel returning to a more normal level will help with domestic sales. We just need good harvest weather to bring in a crop to fulfill those needs.
Covering Southern Corn Production Corn South is a supplement to the Mid-South and Southeast versions of Cotton Farming magazine and to The Peanut Grower magazine for producers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. To receive Corn South, visit www.CornSouth. com and click on “Subscribe to Corn South.”
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A Look At The Market
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he U.S. Department of Agriculture revised the corn production forecast after the devastating derecho storm across Midwest. Corn production for grain is now estimated at 14.9 billion bushels, down 2% from the previous forecast, but still up 9% from 2019. Yields are expected to average a record 178.5 bushels per harvested acre, down 3.3 bushels from the previous forecast, but up 11.1 bushels from last year. Area harvested for grain is forecast at 83.5 million acres, down 1% from the previous estimate, but up 3% from the prior year. Texas A&M AgriLife Associate Professor and Extension Economist Mark Welch says in his newsletter “Feed Grain Outlook” that export sales have continued strong for the year. “Sales for mid-September were 63 million bushels, twice the pace needed to reach the marketing year target of
2.325 billion bushels. That goal is up 560 million bushels compared to corn exports in 2019-20.” On price, Welch says the seasonal tendency of the December corn contract is to exhibit an upward price trend through the spring, peak in June and fall below the year’s average price in mid-July. “That early season price strength is normally associated with uncertainty over acres, yield and demand prospects. Even before the current health crisis, prices were exhibiting uncharacteristic early season weakness, perhaps factoring in a large increase in corn supply for 2020.” He notes that questions over storm damage, yield potential and acres may provide enough incentive to price more corn. “With harvest about a month away and a good handle on 2020 production levels, I am prepared to price another 10% for downside price protection through harvest.” CS
RESEARCH TRIAL Yield Gain Potential
Phantom yield gain is a popular term for yields gained from harvesting corn at 25% to 30% moisture compared to letting the corn dry in the field to about 15% to 17% moisture, then harvesting. Several studies from Perdue University Professor of Agronomy Bob Nielson have shown these yield gains are real. This year, the Alabama Corn Commission funded an on-farm high-moisture corn trial with Regional Extension Agents John Vanderford and Eddie McGriff to see if there was a yield gain from harvesting high-moisture corn and if it was economical for the grower.
Value In Early Harvesting
Conducted on Stanley Walters’ farm in the Blackbelt, the trial was irrigated and replicated four times.
The March 26 planted corn was harvested on Aug. 5 at 24.92% moisture and the average yield was 210.74 bushels per acre. On Aug. 18, the corn was harvested at 16.95%, averaging 198.68 bushels per acre. Both harvest weights were adjusted for moisture and yields are based on 15.5% moisture. The yield increase after adjusting for moisture was about 12 bushels per acre or 6%. Test weights for high-moisture corn are generally lower than when harvested at a lower moisture. The average test weight for this trial was 54.3 pounds per bushel at 24.92% moisture compared to 59.6 pounds per bushel when harvested at 16.95%. Read the economic data from this trial on the Sept. 15, 2020, Alabama Crop Report at https://bit. ly/2GwC8Tu. CS CORNSOUTH.COM
2021 Corn Hybrids Corn South presents a partial listing of corn hybrids suited for the Southern growing region. For a more complete listing, contact your seed representative. DEKALB DKC62-05 Brand (112RM) DKC62-08 Brand (112RM) • Versatile product with top-end yield potential • Very good stalks, roots and drought tolerance • Nice dry down and test weight • Proven performer and adapted to most acres • DKC62-05 Brand is a great refuge option DKC63-57 Brand (113RM) • Broadly adapted with strong yields across environments • Has shown excellent standability • Capability to flex at reduced planting populations • Solid agronomics and disease tolerance package DKC64-35 Brand (114RM) • Disease Shield for excellent foliar disease tolerance and stay-green • Very good stalk and root strength • Excellent southern rust tolerance • Excellent grain quality with a somewhat open husk type DKC65-20 Brand (115RM) • Shorter plant stature with a broad canopy
• Has shown impressive standability • Very good stay-green and intactness • Strong drought tolerance DKC65-93 Brand (115RM) DKC65-95 Brand (115RM) • Good stress tolerance, strong yield potential across environments • Attractive plant type with strong agronomics • Strong roots and stalks provide good standability • Excellent grain quality and test weight • DKC65-93 Brand is an RR2 option DKC65-99 Brand (115RM) • Has shown strong yield potential and stability • Very good stalks and roots with a medium plant height • Very good southern rust tolerance • Broadly adapted across most soil types DKC66-18 Brand (116RM) • Excellent yield potential with good movement across regions and environments • Moderate plant type with very good standability • Very good disease package and harvest time flexibility • Best suited for medium to medium-high plant populations
DKC66-75 Brand (116RM) • Disease Shield product, with excellent foliar disease tolerance • Strong performance at high yield levels • A tall hybrid that has shown good standability DKC67-44 Brand (117RM) • Can perform in low- and high-yield environments • Nice ear flex and grain quality • Very strong drought tolerance DKC68-69 Brand (118RM) • Strong foliar disease tolerance package • Robust plant type with good canopy coverage • Strong yield opportunity • Versatility and drought tolerance for most yield environments DKC70-25 Brand (120RM) DKC70-27 Brand (120RM) • Disease Shield for excellent foliar disease tolerance • Strong performance in dryland or irrigated environments • Full-season performance leader • Very good grain quality • DKC70-25 Brand is a great refuge option in fuller-season genetics
NK Corn NK1082 (RM 110) – New • Broadly adapted hybrid for all yield environments • Moderate plant stature with great emergence for an earlier planting window • Flexible trait offering for a step change in above- and below-ground insect management
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE
NK1460 (RM 114) • Industry-leading trait package for management of above- and belowground insects • Outstanding performance in the central and western Corn Belt • Performs solidly under limited irrigation or rainfall NK1573 (RM 115) – New • Population-driven hybrid for top-end performance • Very good root and stalk strength for harvest flexibility TWITTER: @CORN_SOUTH
NOVEMBER 2020 | CORN SOUTH
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2021 Corn Hybrids • Dependable stay-green to help maximize yield potential NK1677 (RM 116) – New • Higher-yielding hybrid that responds to management • Improved test weight and grain quality with desirable ear placement and husk cover • Excellent combination of strong stalks and roots NK1748 (RM 117) – New • Enhanced agronomics with stable yield performance • Very strong roots with moderate plant and ear height • Improvement in test weight and grain quality NK1808 (RM 118) • Strong hybrid choice for highly productive irrigated and dryland systems • Tall plant type with good stalks for improved standability • Great plant health and stay-green promotes late-season intactness
Pioneer P1077AM • Early product with good stability and yield potential • Strong drought tolerance for planting on variable soils • Has above-average stalks and competitive late-season roots plus good midseason brittle stalk resistance
P1317YHR – New • 113 CRM hybrid with exceptional yield potential • Excellent test weight, grain quality suited for many food corn markets • Moderate plant height and lower ear placement with above-average stalk strength P1464VYHR • Widely adapted, high-yielding Optimum Leptra option with yield potential and stability • Placement flexibility with strong drought tolerance • Above-average Fusarium and Diplodia ear rot resistance and average gray leaf spot resistance P1506YHR – New • A new midseason option with above-average stalks and roots • Shorter plant with lower ear placement plus good test weight and excellent grain quality • Good resistance to northern leaf blight P1731YHR – New • This 117 CRM hybrid offers excellent yield potential across environments • Above-average stalk and root strength coupled with very good grain quality • Moderate resistance to northern leaf blight and gray leaf spot aid in above-average plant health • Position in moderate- to high-yield environments within the mid- to late-planting window
P1870YHR • Performs in both irrigated and higheryielding non-irrigated environments • Shorter plant height, lower ear placement, outstanding stalk strength, strong roots and above-average midseason brittle stalk resistance combine for solid standability • Offers intermediate resistance to northern leaf blight plus good resistance to Fusarium ear rot P1847VYHR • Exciting Optimum Leptra option with impressive yield potential, yield stability, heat tolerance and very good drought tolerance • Top-end yield potential allows placement on productive soils in addition to moderate stress-prone soils • Very early silking for maturity (112 CRM) helps with late drought avoidance management P2042VYHR – New • This new 120 CRM hybrid can be placed across most soil types and environments • Solid standability with strong stalks and above-average roots • Very good test weight, stay-green and grain quality
For additional information: • • •
www.DEKALB.com/myseed www.NKCorn.com www.pioneer.com
New Product FMC Offers Xyway 3D Fungicide FMC’s Xyway 3D fungicide combines the systemic triazole fungicide, flutriafol, with at-plant flexibility. According to the company’s press release, this is the first at-plant corn fungicide to provide season-long, inside-out disease protection. When soil-applied, the FMC proprietary active ingredient is taken up by plant roots and translocated throughout the plant before diseases emerge, providing early, systemic and long-lasting residual protection. Xyway 3D fungicide has received Environmental Protection Agency registration for foliar disease protection from gray leaf spot, southern corn leaf blight, northern corn leaf blight, common rust, head smut and common smut. An FMC trial documented 51% longer roots, 32% greater root surface area, 60% more root forks and 15% more root volume
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in corn treated with Xyway 3D fungicide than in the untreated check. A more robust root system improves the plant’s capacity to absorb water and nutrients and maximize yields. Flutriafol is a member of FRAC Group 3 and is a demethylation inhibitor. To learn more, visit fmc.com. CS CORNSOUTH.COM