Yield Considerations

When growing high oil corn using the TopCross® system the seed planted will be a blend of female grain parent and male pollinator. Achieving potential yield will depend on several factors, one of which will be adjusting the planting rate in the correct way.

WHAT IS YIELD?

Although a yield number can be relatively easily measured, by yield monitors or at the elevator, some care is required in making yield comparisons. Yield is always a point measure of a range that is impacted by several factors. Thus, comparison of yields is sometimes more subjective than objective, and there are different ways to view the situation:

a) by growing two hybrids side by side in the same field and comparing the harvested grain amount. This is the best method but turns out to be difficult to do with the high oil TopCross® production system because the pollen blows around and is not confined to one particular area. Cross-pollination affects the measured results.

b) by comparing a hybrid with published results for yield. This provides an idea of the general performance compared to the State or National average, or compared to high yielding elite hybrids, etc. However, this is not a good method for specific on-farm comparisons -- although local extension trials, or seed company tests, may provide a reasonable comparison for that particular area.

c) by comparing yield with the best yielding hybrids on the farm. However, this can be mis-leading because not all hybrids grown on one farm will be the highest yielding elite lines. Thus, comparing the yield of high oil corn with the highest yielding hybrids only is not always appropriate.

d) by comparing yields with the farm average. A range of hybrids may be grown on any one farm resulting in an across-farm average. Such an average can be useful for comparing against high oil corn yields. Some consideration of the long-term field average (and relative to the farm average) can also be used to make an effective yield comparison for high oil corn.

Each grower must determine what an effective yield is, given a desired number of bushels per acre combined with a risk spread by planting different hybrids across the farm. For example, high oil corn may not equal the best hybrid yield on the farm, but if it equals the lowest hybrid yield on the farm then the overall farm average would not change in terms of bushels per acre. However, the overall value of the corn produced farm-wide would have increased due to the premium for high oil grain.

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