Released Feb. 18, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana growers will have the opportunity to select soybean varieties to be tested in Purdue University's field crop trials.
With funding from the Indiana Soybean Alliance and its collaboration with the Purdue Crop Performance Program, the Purdue Agronomy program gives farmers a two-fold advantage.
"First, farmers will have direct input, unlike before when it has been company driven," said Phil DeVillez, director of the Purdue Crop Performance Program. "Second, they will get to see how their favorite variety stacks up against the competition."
The program also provides seed companies the opportunity to have more soybean varieties tested without the additional cost.
Farmers who wish to nominate a variety should follow two steps. DeVillez recommends to start by finding which varieties have been tested in previous years by going to the Purdue Crop Performance Web site at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/pcpp/. If the variety has not been tested, go to the Indiana Soybean Alliance Web site at http://www.indianasoybean.com/seed and fill out a nomination form. Nominations are due by March 1.
"We are really excited about this program because it has the potential to really impact the bottom line," DeVillez said. "Growers will be able to see if they need to change varieties or if they already have the best yielding variety."
There is no limit to the number of varieties a farmer can nominate; however, a separate form must be filled out for each nomination.
"The Purdue Crop Performance Program has continued to grow during the last two years," DeVillez said. "Last year we tested 230 soybean varieties, and this year we will accept up to 100 farmer-nominated varieties."
A list of the varieties selected for the trials will be posted to the Crop Performance Program Web site in late spring.
For more information about the farmer-nominated soybean program, visit the Indiana Soybean Alliance Web site at http://www.indianasoybean.com/ or call (317) 347-3620.
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http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008a/080218DeVillezSoybean.html
Contacts: Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu
Phil DeVillez, (765) 494-0406, pld@purdue.edu
