In the history books, 2017 will go down as a tale of two extremes. In parts of Eastern Canada, there was flooding while drought in the U.S. Great Plains reached north into Canada. And in between, growing conditions were anything up to and including perfect.
So what’s in the cards for 2018?
Few decisions are more important than your seed genetics, and in the following pages, 10 seed and trait companies tell us about more than 90 new hybrids that they feel will be important to your getting more bushels (or more silage) out of whatever next year has to offer. We hope our list will prove a good starting point for your own investigations.
(Legend – CHU: crop heat units; RM: relative maturity; RIB: refuge in a bag; BMR: brown mid-rib; NDF: neutral detergent fibre; NDFd: neutral detergent fibre digestibility)
Croplan (Winfield)
4020VT2P/RIB (100 day/2925 CHU): This tough-acre hybrid is well-adapted to stressful growing conditions in the 100 relative maturity (RM) zone, with a large fibrous root system and a medium-height plant. Its flex ear allows a variety of population options. It also brings strong, natural corn borer tolerance.
4079SS/RIB and VT2P/RIB (100 day/ 2950 CHU): Ranked first in the company’s 2016 Answer Plot yield trials, with excellent roots and stress tolerance, and good disease tolerance, this hybrid is well adapted to corn-on-corn systems with the capability to handle high populations. Very good seedling vigour allows early planting. Available in SmartStax and VT Double Pro versions.
4488SS/RIB (104 day/3150 CHU): 4488SS/RIB has exceptional yield potential and is best positioned in high-yield environments. Tall hybrid with good roots and green-snap ratings, it is well adapted to corn-on-corn rotations.
4997VT2P/RIB (109 day/3300 CHU): This hybrid has strong yield potential but should be kept in the 110 RM zone. It is a tall hybrid with very good stalks, roots, and disease package, plus solid drought tolerance and good green-snap tolerance. Keep on rotated acres, but it will handle variable yield environments.
Dekalb/Monsanto
DKC26-40RIB (2150 CHU): This VT Double PRO RIB Complete hybrid has a strong disease package and excellent test weight. Fast drydown helps put this hybrid on the early side of its relative maturity. It has also demonstrated excellent emergence and late-season appearance.
DKC50-26RIB (3050 CHU): This SmartStax RIB Complete hybrid has shown excellent seedling vigour and drydown. Excellent stalk strength and late-season health contribute to its exceptional test weight and yield potential.
DKC51-40RIB (3075 CHU): This VT Double PRO RIB Complete hybrid has shown very good grain quality and exceptional test weight. It also has excellent late-season appearance with big girthy ears and excellent drydown. It performs best in medium- to high-yield environments and across a wide range of populations.
DKC59-50RIB (3300 CHU): This VT Double PRO RIB Complete hybrid performs best in dryland conditions but has strong irrigated-yield potential as well. It demonstrates exceptional stay-green and excellent stalks and roots for late-season standability. Its semi-flex ear type provides some population flexibility.
Dow Seeds
DS79C56 (2300 CHU, 79 RM): The earliest of the new Enlist weed control system hybrids, DS79C56 is a new, high-yielding, early-flowering hybrid with the new PowerCore trait for broad-spectrum above-ground insect pest control. It is a flex ear type with deep kernels and good test weight. Solid agronomics including strong stalks and good late-season plant integrity.
DS81R65 (2400 CHU, 81 RM): This hybrid features the PowerCore trait and offers consistent-sized ears down the row with good tip-fill, fast grain drydown and good grain quality. Solid agronomics include good drought tolerance and strong stalks and roots. Excellent emergence and early vigour, make this hybrid well adapted to early planting.
DS83T15 (2500 CHU, 83 RM): This hybrid features the PowerCore trait and provides broad-spectrum above-ground insect pest control with very high yield potential in productive environments. It offers strong emergence and vigour in cool, wet soils and is well adapted for early planting. Solid agronomics include excellent stay-green and late-season intactness, plus good stalk strength.
DS88G67 (2700 CHU, 88 RM): This hybrid has excellent yield potential that adapts well to variable environments. It contains both SmartStax and Enlist traits including strong stalks, making it suitable for delayed harvest, and shows very good fall plant health and late-season plant integrity.
DS88G62 (2700 CHU, 88 RM): This highly adaptable hybrid fits in variable environments with excellent yield potential. It’s part of the new Enlist weed control system, with stalk strength and very good fall plant health making it suitable for delayed harvest.
DS90K07RA (2800 CHU, 90 RM): A medium-tall hybrid with excellent top-end yield potential in productive environments, it offers solid agronomics including strong stalks and roots suitable for delayed harvest with good late-season intactness. An excellent disease package and flex ear type adapts well to variable plant densities.
DS92J87RA (2825 CHU, 92 RM): This stable, early-flowering hybrid with solid agronomics, offers strong emergence and early-season vigour as well as excellent drought and disease tolerance. It also features good stalks and roots, late-season stay-green and flex ear type with excellent grain quality.
DS95M97 (2850 CHU, 95 RM): This hybrid brings top-end yield potential and adaptability to all soil types. It has strong roots, good grain quality and fast grain drydown. It thrives in moderate- to high-yield environments.
DS02J55 (3100 CHU, 102 RM): This tall hybrid features the PowerCore and Enlist traits and is well adapted to Eastern Canada production zones. With excellent emergence and early vigour, it offers very high-yield potential, good drought tolerance and stability even in tough conditions.
DS01D85 (3050 CHU, 101 RM): This new PowerCore Enlist early-flowering hybrid delivers impressive top end yields. Solid agronomics include strong stalks and roots and late-season plant intactness. Excellent disease package includes very good tolerance to NCLB and eyespot.
DS04Y97RA (3125 CHU, 104 RM): A solid hybrid with new elite genetics delivers impressive yields, it has solid agronomics including strong stalks and roots, good drought tolerance and disease tolerance. Very girthy ears will flex at moderate populations and adapt to variable stands.
DS04S85 (3150 CHU, 104 RM): Based on a new line of genetics and featuring both the PowerCore and Enlist traits, this hybrid is widely adaptable across soil types and environments. It delivers big yields in productive environments and maintains consistent performance under variable fertility and stress. It has excellent stalks and roots with good tolerance to northern corn leaf blight.
DS05U06 (3200 CHU, 106 RM): This PowerCore Enlist hybrid dries fast in the field for a timely harvest with minimal lodging. Its uniform and fast emergence helps it fit in most of the province.
DS08A27 (3200 CHU, 106 RM): This high-performance hybrid offers big yield potential and good test weight with a very good agronomic package. Protected by SmartStax and Enlist traits, it delivers higher yield at higher populations.
DS06R36 (3200 CHU, 106 RM): A top-performing hybrid from a new line of genetics that features both the PowerCore and Enlist traits, it performs over a wide range of soil types and environments with excellent yield stability. Its solid agronomics include strong stalks, very good test weight and excellent tolerance to northern corn leaf blight.
DS10Y47RA (3300 CHU, 110 RM): This attractive new medium-tall hybrid offers very high-yield potential at moderate populations. Its solid agronomics include drought tolerance, good stalks and roots, and a strong disease package including excellent northern corn leaf blight tolerance. The semi-flex ear features good grain quality and full husk coverage protecting the ear in areas prone to bird damage.
Silage Hybrids
TMF81H46 (2400 CHU, 81 RM): This new silage-specific hybrid offers the Enlist weed control system and includes the PowerCore trait. Strong tonnage can be expected from this early hybrid along with excellent NDFd and starch scores. It is well adapted to various soil types and environments and boasts a solid agronomic package for stalks and roots.
BMR90B17 (2600 CHU, RM 90): Dow Seeds’ earliest BMR hybrid features a new line of BMR genetics with SmartStax and Enlist traits. It provides excellent NDFd and delivers very high-quality corn silage. BMR90B17 produces very good forage yields for its maturity, has a solid agronomic package and adapts well to variable plant densities.
BMR90B94 (2600 CHU, RM 90): This is a new BMR hybrid with excellent standability and good stress tolerance. Its solid plant agronomics will support high plant densities and narrow row widths. It moves north well.
BMR93B41 (2700 CHU, RM 93): This new Enlist BMR hybrid has good ear development, good tip-fill and a harder kernel. The hybrid is medium-tall and boasts good stress tolerance.
F2F345RA (2700 CHU, RM 93): A silage-specific hybrid that stands medium-tall and shows good stress tolerance, it delivers good ear development and tip-fill. Harder kernel texture will benefit from kernel processing.
BMR95B79 (2750 CHU, RM 95): This new SmartStax Enlist hybrid with solid agronomics and very strong roots produces excellent tonnage and NDF digestibility. It is a good choice for heavier soils with good fertility and good water-supplying capacity.
BMR06B58 (3125 CHU, RM 106): A tall, dense, silage hybrid featuring a new line of BMR genetics with SmartStax and Enlist traits, it offers very high tonnage potential with excellent NDFd and starch scores making top-quality corn silage. It’s adaptable to variable growing environments, has solid agronomics and excellent response to fungicide application.
BMR09B67 (3200 CHU, RM 109): This full-season BMR silage hybrid with both SmartStax and Enlist traits offers very high tonnage potential. Its solid agronomics include good drought stress tolerance, and it responds well to fertile growing conditions and moderate plant densities.
DuPont Pioneer
Grain Corn
P7227R (2125 CHU): This very early hybrid with excellent drought tolerance is late-flowering with fast drydown, and has great yield-to-moisture performance.
P7527AM (2150 CHU): This hybrid is a very early product with excellent drought tolerance and Optimum AcreMax insect protection. It has great yield-to-moisture performance, and is a late-flowering hybrid with fast drydown.
P8034R (2325 CHU): This new high-yield potential hybrid has very good northern leaf blight tolerance and solid agronomics. It has great yield-to-moisture performance, above-average agronomics, and is a shorter hybrid with low ear insertion.
P8234AM (2400 CHU): This is another new, high-yield potential product with above-average agronomics. It has good northern leaf blight tolerance and is a shorter plant with low ear insertion.
P8700AM (2600 CHU): This new high-yield potential hybrid has very good northern leaf blight tolerance and excellent drought tolerance. It is a short plant with moderate ear insertion and early flowering — an exciting new performer for 2600 heat unit maturity.
P9330AM (2750 CHU): A new product with solid agronomics, great yield potential and stability, this hybrid has above-average test weight, and is suitable for eastern Ontario and Quebec.
P9404AM (2800 CHU): This new stable product for maturity with an excellent agronomic package has great yield potential and widely adapted genetics. It has moderate plant height and above-average test weight.
P9608AM (2850 CHU): A new stable product for maturity with very good root and stalk strength, this hybrid has great yield performance and stability with very good test weight. It has excellent standability traits.
P9608AMXT (2850 CHU): Another new stable product for maturity with above- and below-ground insect protection, this hybrid has great yield performance and stability with very good test weight.
P9621AMXT (2850 CHU): This new product has outstanding yield potential, and built-in above- and below-ground insect protection. It is a late-flowering offensive-style product and is predicted to have above-average Gibberella ear rot tolerance — a new yield winner for the 2850 heat unit maturity.
P9840AMXT (2900 CHU): This new Optimum AcreMax XTreme product in P9840 platform genetics offers great yield stability, and excellent root strength. It is a shorter plant with low ear insertion.
P9998AM (2950 CHU): An exciting new product for maturity with excellent drought tolerance via the Optimum AQUAmax trait this hybrid has great yield-to-moisture performance with above-average test weight.
P9998AMXT (3000 CHU): A strong new product for maturity with excellent drought tolerance via the Optimum AQUAmax trait, this hybrid has above-average test weight and great yield-to-moisture performance. It is a short plant with low ear insertion.
P0306AM (3100 CHU): This new product for maturity has excellent drought tolerance via the Optimum AQUAmax trait. It offers above-average test weight, outstanding root strength and above-average stalk strength.
P0414AM (3125 CHU): This new product for maturity has very good test weight, and moderate Gibberella ear rot tolerance. It is a tall hybrid with above-average ear height.
P0574AM (3150 CHU): This high-performing product offers excellent drought tolerance via the Optimum AQUAmax trait, and has great yield-to-moisture performance. It is a shorter plant with low ear insertion, excellent root strength and above-average standability.
P0574AMXT (3125 CHU): Another high-performing product with excellent drought tolerance via the Optimum AQUAmax trait, this hybrid has great yield-to-moisture performance. It has built-in above- and below-ground insect protection.
Silage Hybrids
P0789AMXT (3100 to 3400 CHU): This new product with excellent silage appearance and quality is a strong full-season silage option. It is a very tall plant with high ear insertion. This hybrid has excellent silage yield and starch score.
Elite Seeds
E44H12 R (2100 CHU): This Genuity VT Double Pro RIB Complete is an early hybrid with a good seedling vigour. Its early flowering and short relative maturity fit it for short-season regions, and it has excellent yield and test weight.
E52V97 R (2450 CHU): This is the Roundup Ready version of E52V92 R. This medium-tall corn has very good stalk and root strength. It adapts well to high population and offers a good yield response in all environments. Its test weight is excellent.
E55T37 R (2600 CHU): This is the Roundup Ready version of E55T32 R. This hybrid has good seedling vigour. It has great stay-green in the fall which makes it a good candidate for either silage or grain corn, and it has fast drydown. The yield potential is high in high-yielding regions.
E61H72 R (2700 CHU): This is another Genuity VT Double Pro RIB Complete hybrid. Versatile for either silage or grain corn, it’s tall, and its consistent large cob responds to high populations with superior yields. The roots and stalk quality give it good stay-green and plant integrity in the fall.
E62H80 LR (2750 CHU): A Genuity SmartStax RIB Complete hybrid that responds well whether it’s in stress or a corn-on-corn situation, it has excellent development and consistently large cob for great yield potential. This hybrid will also do very well as a silage option.
E61C37 R (2725 CHU): This is the Roundup Ready version of E61C35. Added to the qualities of the E61C35, it brings good fall stay-green. Its tall plants will also provide an excellent silage yield. In its zone, this hybrid will give a good test weight and grain quality.
E67H95 (conventional) and E67H92 R (Genuity VT Double Pro) (2900 CHU): These two versions of the same hybrid deliver high yield plus early flowering and fast drydown. Stalk quality is excellent — an excellent companion product to E69G92R.
Horizon Seeds
HZ 2853 (2650 CHU: This hybrid utilizes the new trait platform Agrisure 3120 E-Z Refuge which offers European corn borer insect protection only. It has proven to a be a racehorse-type hybrid that will perform best on well-fed soils.
HZ 3295 (2750 CHU): This new Artesian hybrid using the Agrisure Artesian 3120A E-Z Refuge offers corn borer insect protection plus drought protection that will help you maximize yield when it rains and increase yield when it doesn’t. It offers big, girthy ears and a solid agronomic package.
HZ 991-ORG (2900 CHU): This new organically produced hybrid is an excellent hybrid with tremendous ear flex, and adapts to all environments and has phenomenal seed vigour. It has top ratings for root strength and drought tolerance, and will perform well on sandy soils.
HZ 3720 (2900 CHU): This top-quality new hybrid being produced organically has nice quick emergence and high-yield potential for a conventional hybrid.
HZ 4255 (3050 CHU): An outstanding new GT only hybrid, HZ 4255 is a replacement hybrid for HZ 1052GT. This great agronomic package provides excellent girthy ears with good kernel depth.
Silage Hybrids
HZ 2340 (2500 CHU): This stable new silage-specific hybrid has many years’ worth of research data. It produces big yields and consistently offers great feed numbers.
HZ 2810 (2625 CHU): This silage-only hybrid will grow very tall with a full canopy and great eye appeal. It is offered with the glyphosate-tolerant only Agrisure GT trait.
HZ 3330 (2800 CHU): This new silage-only hybrid has very tall plant stature with the Agrisure 3000GT trait for corn rootworm and corn borer protection.
HZ 4037 (3000 CHU): This silage-only hybrid grows very tall and will give lots of tonnage. It features Agrisure Viptera 3111, a full trait package with rootworm, corn borer and western bean cutworm protection.
Legend Seeds (distributed through Sevita-PROSeeds)
LR 9874 VT2PRIB (2375 CHU/74 day): This corn hybrid with a great root system to handle most soil types, also has great late-season intactness and fast drydown.
LR 9785 VT2PRIB (2675 CHU/85 day): This high-yield potential hybrid does well under highly productive fertile soils and high-management systems. It has very good early-season vigour, tassels early for its maturity.
LR 9891 VT2PRIB (2825 CHU/91 day): A very high-yield potential for this corn hybrid, it will travel across all soil types and has a great anthracnose rating. This medium-short product has excellent stalk and root health.
LR 9495 VT2PRIB (2850 CHU/95 day): This go-anywhere hybrid with great early growth handles stress very well. It gives consistent yields year after year and is a great partner to LR 9891 VT2PRIB.
LS 5495 (2850 CHU/95 day): This go-anywhere conventional corn hybrid, also has great early growth, consistent yields, and can handle stress very well.
LR 9705 VT2PRIB (3150 CHU/105 day): This hybrid demonstrates a high yield with fertile soils. Medium tall, it likes higher population, does well under a high-management system, and has very good late-season intactness.
Maizex Seeds
Grain Corn
MZ 2655DBR (2600 CHU, 86 RM): This VT Double Pro hybrid provides industry-leading yield and stalk strength. Rapid grain drydown allows movement north of adapted zone, plus superior plant health and stay-green to protect yield.
MZ 3397SMX (2800 CHU, 93 RM): This SmartStax hybrid offers flexible positioning. It performs positively in low- and high-yield environments. Early flowering allows movement north of adapted zone. Strong stalks allow for flexible harvest.
MZ 3611SMX (2900 CHU, 96 RM): This tough and rugged SmartStax hybrid offers impressive stress tolerance for peace of mind. Its strong agronomics enable flexible harvest with impressive plant health and stay-green for maximum yield.
MZ 3656DBR (2900 CHU, 96 RM): This VT Double Pro hybrid is dominant from start to finish and features impressive seeding vigour leading to exceptional plant health. Open husks lead to rapid grain drydown. With exceptional stalk strength, its performance excels under high fertility.
MZ 3818DBR (2950 CHU, 98 RM): This VT Double Pro showy hybrid has excellent late-season plant health and intactness. It also offers broad-spectrum disease tolerance to protect yield potential plus solid performance in low- and high-yield environments.
MZ 402X (3050 CHU, 100 RM): This conventinal hybrid offers performance with exceptional plant health and stay-green maximize yield. Strong stalks allow for flexible harvest, with impressive yield and response to intensive management. Short plant height also maximizes harvest efficiency.
MZ 4368SMX (3100 CHU, 103 RM): This SmartStax dependable hybrid with powerful spring vigour accommodates early planting, and industry-leading plant stay-green combined with a robust disease package. Open husks allow for rapid grain drydown and strong stalks also allow for flexible harvest.
MZ 4511DBR (3150 CHU, 105 RM): This VT Double Pro, performance-driven hybrid has strong spring vigour and a strong disease package. Early flowering allows maximum yield north of zone, plus leading stalk strength, grain drydown and impressive plant health for peace of mind.
MZ 5165DBR (3275 CHU, 111 RM): This VT Double Pro full-season hybrid has maximum maturity and maximum yield. It has exceptional stay-green and plant health. Strong stalks enable flexible harvest, plus open husks and grain drydown along with robust disease tolerance protects yield potential.
Silage Corn
MS 6902R (1950 CHU, 69 RM): This Roundup Ready Corn 2 hybrid has an unmatched combination of maturity and yield, and provides leading performance for early silage. It has large, girthy ears with soft kernel texture for increased starch availability. This large, robust plant with wide leaves maximizes tonnage and white cobs to increase palatability.
MS 7420R (2300 CHU, 74 RM): This Roundup Ready Corn 2 hybrid is aggressive with strong seedling vigour that develops large, robust plants. Its large ears have kernels with soft texture to increase digestibility and white cobs increase feed palatability.
MS 8088R (2400 CHU, 80 RM): With Agrisure GT this flexible hybrid has strong stalks that allow for flexible harvest. Large ears increase starch quantity while its tall, robust plant increases tonnage. Performance excels in low- and high-yield environments.
LF 9066SMX (2600 CHU, 90 RM): This SmartStax hybrid is ideal for continuous corn acres, and offers a leading combination of yield and digestibility in the early season, plus advanced traits for continuous corn rotations. Strong early vigour develops into extremely large, robust plants. Impressive plant health also protects yield potential.
LFG 9601R (2800 CHU, 97 RM): This Roundup Ready Corn 2 hybrid provides industry-leading digestibility and yield. Impressive ears develop floury kernels for maximum starch availability. Expanded harvest window allows for flexible harvest, and white cobs increase feed palatability.
LF 0284SMX (2950 CHU, 102 RM): Maximum tonnage is the hallmark of this SmartStax hybrid. With very good seeding vigour that produces large, robust plants, this hybrid has a leading balance of maximum insect protection and whole-plant digestibility for continuous corn acres. Impressive ears also maximize starch quantity.
Pride Seeds
A4477HM (2300 CHU): This new introductory conventional hybrid for silage and high-moisture usage has a very unique genetic product family. It features slow grain drying rate that preserves reliable and consistent feed quality at ideal moisture content. Ears are very girthy, exceptionally consistent, producing packed kernels on a white cob with outstanding health, standability and disease resistance.
A5910 (2700 CHU): From a very strong product family this new introductory hybrid is a conventional version of A5914G2 RIB and A5915G8 RIB. With very strong performance it has exceptional yield potential and great drought and stress tolerance. Featuring blocky, girthy ears and consistent uniformity it has an attractive harvest appearance to allow for late-season harvest flexibility. Rapid drydown allows for favourable yield to moisture ratios. A5910 has excellent foliar health and disease tolerance.
A6018G2 RIB (2800 CHU): From an impressive benchmark product family and now additionally available as PRIDE G2 VT Double PRO RIB Complete delivers above-ground insect control and is an excellent choice for dual-purpose grain or silage usage. It combines long-lasting health, outstanding stalk strength and visually attractive plant stature with outstanding plant and ear uniformity. With its exceptional performance consistency and reliability it has the best overall balance of agronomic factors.
A8300 (3350 CHU): Another new introductory conventional version hybrid of highly successful A8303G8 RIB. It has phenomenally high yield potential, outstanding ear size consistency, is quick to fully canopy and has visually attractive ears with heavy packed grain. This versatile hybrid is adapted to all production systems and is a significant step forward agronomically and top in class yield potential.
Syngenta
NK7701 (2300 CHU): This new, early-maturing corn hybrid with a 77-day relative maturity has demonstrated excellent performance across most yield environments. It provides exceptional test weight and grain quality, as well as outstanding stalk strength for easy harvestability. The variety also includes a strong disease-resistance package with excellent stay-green for improved late-season stress tolerance.
NK8920 (2775 CHU): This new corn variety with an 89-day relative maturity combines exciting yield performance with broad adaptability. Excellent emergence and seedling vigour help the hybrid get off to a fast start, while strong roots and stalks drive high-yield potential. It also features superb stay-green traits and late-season plant health for consistent performance through to harvest.
This article was originally featured in the September 2017 issue of the Corn Guide.
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