Corn Hybrid Testing

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Photo of one of the hybrid testing locations

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Corn Hybrid Testing Program, North Dakota State University

Procedures of and results from the corn hybrid testing program in eastern North Dakota. This page also contains a link to the corn hybrid entry application for those companies wishing to enter hybrids into the trial program and to the results of other hybrid trials conducted by Research Extension Centers within the North Dakota State University Experiment Station system.

Tractor and planter used for establishing corn hybrid plotsPurpose

The purpose of this site is to provide information on the comparative performance of corn hybrids based on the data from replicated hybrid trials in various regions of North Dakota and adjoining areas in Minnesota.  Research has demonstrated the value of using data from multiple locations and years in selecting a hybrid. The primary focus of this site to provide information for the hybrid testing program conducted by researchers located on the main campus of NDSU. Links will be provided to all corn hybrid trials conducted by the Research Extension Centers and the NDSU Extension publication "North Dakota Corn Hybrid Performance Results", which summarizes the corn hybrid trial results for all of the state. The precision planter used in establishing the plots, which was provided by the North Dakota Corn Council, is pictured on the right. 

New to the program in 2017 is a pair of drones.  Our primary one, an ATI Agbot, nicknamed 'Hal', is equipped with a MicaSense RedEdge camera, while and 'Lil Hal', a DJI Phantom 4, has a Sentera NIR camera, and a color camera for taking photos and video. Both cameras allow us to monitor crop health throughout the season and scout plots on a real time basis to more quickly identify areas of the field that may have problems.  In turn, we can then use the images captured and stitched together, import them into a GIS software, and compare plots using NDVI data and statistical analysis. (click here for a video of Hal in action)

Trial locations in Eastern North Dakota and Minnesota:

During the 2019 growing season, hybrid trials in eastern ND were conducted in 10 locations. These locations are:

Southern Zone:  Ransom County, Richland County, and Sargent County

Central Zone:  Cass County, Steele County, and Traill County

Northern Zone: Grand Forks County, Nelson County, Ramsey County, and Marshall County, MN (test strip in photo provided by NDSU)

Locations for the 2019 trials will be similar to 2018.  Photos and GPS locations will be updated during the growing season.

 

Links to companies entered in 2019

2019 Harvest Data

Excel file of all trial results currently available can be downloaded here - excel file

Northern zone, early maturing hybrids combined all locations
Northern zone, late maturing hybrids combined all locations

Central zone, early maturing combined all locations
Central zone, late maturing combined all locations

Southern zone, early maturing hybrids, combined all locations
Southern zone, late maturing hybrids. combined all locations

 
Site by site summary of 2019 growing season

 

Grand Forks County plot tour 2018 video

Sargent county plot tour 2017 video

Steel County plot tour 2017 video

 

Contacts

Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension Agronomist - Cereal Crops

Cell: 701-730-0384 

Darin Eisinger, NDSU Research Specialist, Corn Hybrid Testing

Cell: 701-371-2343

Ransom County Plot Tour 2017

Research reported here was partially funded by the
North Dakota Corn Council This is the logo of the North Dakota Corn Council
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