Selecting well-adapted and superior corn hybrids is critical to the success and profitability of your farm. Accordingly, Mississippi State goes to great lengths to evaluate, assess and analyze corn hybrid performance. Our university variety testing programs have long played an important role in generating sound, third-party performance evaluations from which Mississippi growers can better identify superior genetics. Furthermore, we conduct a Corn Hybrid Demonstration Program, which enhances the information available for Mississippi producers to make hybrid selection decisions. These Demonstration trials are grown in numerous on-farm locations throughout the state where you can observe and evaluate hybrid performance and characteristics of our region’s most elite hybrids.

Hybrids selected for this program must be validated by producing superior grain yield in the Mississippi Corn for Grain Hybrid Trials or be a relevant market standard. Hybrids are selected annually and grouped into two distinct sets based upon performance in dryland or irrigated culture, since we grow a lot of corn in both these cropping systems, and this can substantially affect hybrid adaptability. Seed companies are also granted the discretion to select their very best hybrids for testing. This establishes a very elite group of corn hybrids for evaluation.

Following are the yield results from 2021 trials. A complete summary of results, including plant characteristic evaluations will be released as soon as possible. Various plant characteristics may prove to be important and this season we saw an extraordinary example near Canton in these trials. This location experienced high winds when the corn was in late vegetative growth stages prior to tassel which caused stalks to break or snap in some hybrids, leading to barren plants and considerable yield loss. This outcome is known as greensnap. Corn is typically more vulnerable to greensnap while stalks are rapidly developing, causing stalks to be brittle.

2021 MSU Corn Hybrid Demo Yield Summaries