It has been a busy couple of days so I am playing a little catch up with this blog. Last Tuesday I walked the Answer Plot with our regional product manager, Brad Miller, and we discussed evaluating emergence, and what that could mean genetically, and for yield. It was May 12th and we were at the tail end of a cold front that had just come through. At 9:30 am it was 60 degrees & breezy and damp everywhere since we had gotten an inch or so of rain the day before. It was incredible to see the changes the Answer Plot had from the week prior.
One of the biggest things Brad suggested is the early or late emergence isn’t predicting the yield. There are so many other factors that will play into that throughout the growing. Also, as long as the corn is within two leaf collars of plant next to it, it will seamlessly make up for the lost time. More than anything, evaluating emergence helps to explain how and where you should plant different hybrids as it showing strengths or weaknesses of its genetic background. Here are some examples…
5976GT did not have as even emergence as some of the other hybrids, but it is still coming up well in the soil at South Charleston. This is one of the reasons we don’t suggest this hybrid for tougher conditions for emergence like no-till or heavy soils.
One thing that is interesting to observe are hybrids with some of the same genetics. There are several hybrids that have a common female from the high-yield family. This female is known for top end yield as a strength and for weaker emergence in cold wet soils. Knowing the genetic similarities, you can go throughout the Answer Plot and see if that female is slowing down emergence, or if emergence is a strength of the male. 6178 (posted above) is a hybrid with the female.
Another important thing to consider is that these observations are only from one location. It is hard to not jump to conclusions. I thought that 6226 had a pretty even and consistant looking stand but Brad told me it didn’t look as well as it did in Pershing, IN. So keeping all of these factors in the back of your mind is also important when considering emergence…
I will post back later with progress results from specific hybrids if you are interested in that product insight. Thanks for reading!
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
