Performance of Late Planted, Short Season Corn Hybrids in Ohio.

In one out of five years, a significant number of corn acres are planted late in Ohio, usually as the result of excessive rainfall. Adapted or ‘commonly grown’ hybrid maturities (usually >104 day relative maturity) can be planted in Ohio as late as early to mid June. However, because of the lower yields and higher grain moisture associated with the late planting of commonly grown hybrid maturities, most farmers switch to soybeans after June 1. Short season hybrids (less than 105 days relative maturity) mature earlier and  dry down better than commonly grown maturities in late plantings, but they have often not been acceptable in terms of their pest resistance and other stress tolerance traits, as well as grain and stalk quality characteristics.  Since many short season hybrids contain the Bt trait that resists second generation ECB, short season hybrids may now offer corn growers a better management option as a late crop than in the past. In 2005 and 2006, we conducted a study to determine effects of late plantings on the agronomic performance of short season hybrids and commonly grown hybrid maturities across a range of production environments in Ohio. Results suggest that short season hybrids are available with yields comparable to commonly grown maturities in late planting environments. Grain moistures levels were considerably lower for some of the short season hybrids than the commonly grown hybrid maturities. At test sites with the greatest stalk lodging, most short season hybrids showed levels of lodging comparable to commonly grown maturities.