Greene: Hybrids respond differently to challenging environments. If you changed your nitrogen plan from what worked last year, that could have influenced this hybrid’s performance this year.
The environment your crop faces every year is different. Corn hybrids from any brand or genetics may only stay on top for a few years until an environment overtakes it or a new hybrid outperforms it. The bottom line is that you need to work with a package of hybrids to spread your risk. Consider utilizing a portion of your acres every year to test new hybrids to rotate in.
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Overstreet: Visit with your seed salesperson about the hybrid, and ask about its nitrogen needs. Is it a hybrid that responds to higher nitrogen rates? You may need to rethink your choice for next year or increase your nitrogen rate for that hybrid. Also, consider the growing conditions this year; it was very cool in May, and some areas were very wet. These weather-related issues may have also been a factor.
Ask your salesperson more about the hybrid before you jump to another one if you have had success with it in the past, and consider new hybrids that respond to lower nitrogen rates. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Quinn: Determine why those marginal yields occurred before assuming the problem was either the hybrid or the reduced nitrogen rate. Without observations and measurements during the growing season, it can be difficult to identify the specific cause and make informed management adjustments. For example, did that hybrid experience greater disease severity than others in the field? Did it have poorer late-season standability? Were nitrogen deficiency symptoms present, particularly during pollination or grain fill, that suggested the crop ran short of available nitrogen?
In our research, we often observe significant yield differences among hybrids planted within the same field, but the reasons for those differences can vary considerably from year to year and environment to environment. Therefore, don’t make a major hybrid or nitrogen management decision without using evidence to confirm one of these may have been the issue. Continuing to evaluate multiple hybrids across the farm while also testing different nitrogen rates within the same field can help determine whether the yield limitation was related to hybrid selection, nitrogen availability or another factor entirely.
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Ritter: You have two variables here: the hybrid and the reduced nitrogen rates. Is this the result of the hybrid, reduced nitrogen rates, a combination of the two, or the even more confounding issue of weather influencing hybrid performance and nitrogen availability.
You could be looking at a hybrid that needs more nitrogen than other hybrids in your portfolio. On the other hand, the hybrid may not have had a great year. Typically, hybrids don’t get to commercialization without exhibiting exceptional performance, but seed companies can’t test every environmental situation.
If other hybrids seemed to do well in the reduced-nitrogen environment, consider altering your seed order to reduce the amount of the hybrid you are concerned about. I wouldn’t eliminate it — just adjust the acres. Too many times, I have seen the superstar hybrid one year fail the next year. Conversely, I’ve seen a hybrid that “fell apart” be the top hybrid the following year.
