Using a nonbiased information source such as a University sponsored yield trial, select the top 20 or so yielding varieties with a maturity rating commensurate with your farm. Identify other performance characteristics and/or traits important for your farm and evaluate the 20 hybrids accordingly by eliminating those that do not comply with your chosen traits. Then look for other sources of data/information on these remaining hybrids to further refine your list. Finally, evaluate the several remaining hybrids on test strips on your farm and incorporate the top performing hybrids into your rotation. This process should be conducted every year since the average life-span of a hybrid is on the order of 3 to 4 years. Because University sponsored hybrid trials are nonbiased, experimentally controlled, and replicated, they will generally provide the most useful information. However, hybrid performance on a neighbor’s field can be used to augment University data in a manner that will help your decision process.
For more information on this or other topics related to corn production, contact your state extension corn specialist or your local extension educator/agent.
The following is the link to the corn extension specialists: state extension corn specialist
