Hybrid offerings change rapidly year to year

Corn growers talk about the years when seed corn companies would offer the same number of hybrids for a few years, but today the seed companies are coming out with large numbers of new hybrids each year.

Growers have to take the seed corn companies’ word for the potential of these new hybrids instead of seeing the performance from one year to the next and selecting the hybrid on last year’s performance.

Syngenta for example is introducing a diverse line-up of 70 new corn hybrids for the 2013 planting season. The company reported the “new offering includes 27 hybrids containing genetics that are new to the market. Data from 3,988 Syngenta trials indicates that hybrids with the new genetics out-yielded competitive hybrids by 4.9 bushels per acre.”

Six of the new hybrids feature Agrisure Artesian technology. Hybrids with Agrisure Artesian technology offer growers a “level of season-long drought tolerance.” The hybrid capabilities are as when the first Artesian hybrids were introduced in 2010. “In Syngenta field trials across a variety of water availability levels, soil types and geographies, hybrids with Agrisure Artesian technology have demonstrated the ability to deliver up to 15 percent more yield under drought conditions, while maximizing yield in ideal moisture environments,” the company contends.

Also available this year are hybrids containing the Agrisure Viptera 3220 E-Z Refuge trait stack and the Agrisure 3122 E-Z Refuge trait stack. These products feature a 5 percent integrated, single-bag refuge for Midwestern corn growers—promoting refuge stewardship with utmost convenience. The Agrisure Viptera 3220 E-Z Refuge trait stack offers dual modes of action to control corn borer and above-ground lepidopteran pests, while hybrids with the Agrisure 3122 E-Z Refuge trait stack are intended for use in areas where both corn rootworm and lepidopteran pest management are primary concerns. Both products received EPA registration in July 2012.

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