Plant breeders follow two different strategies when developing high-yielding hybrids of a given maturity:
- late flower, short grain fill
- early flower, long grain fill
With the first strategy, plant breeders select hybrids using longer periods of the growing season to build bigger corn plants. These large plants tassel late, filling the grain rapidly with a big photo-synthetic factory. This includes the Eastern, Southern, Tropical, High Yield and Late Health genetic types.
The second strategy selects hybrids building smaller plants, flowering early and using longer grain-filling periods to generate yield. Western, Early Health and Flint are this genetic type. Northern genetic-type hybrids both flower early and fill the grain quickly. For this reason, they move north into shorter maturity zones better than any other family. However, the shortened grain fill period makes softer kernels tending to be lower in test weight. Remember the following hybrid selection tips to maximize your production.
- When planting full-season hybrids, or when planting is delayed by a wet spring, early-flowering, long-fill types are more likely to mature and less likely to produce poor-quality grain.
- When planting is early or when planting an early-maturing hybrid, late-tassel, fast-fill hybrids take advantage of the higher leaf area of larger corn plants to produce more yield.
- Reduce your risk by planting hybrids of several different maturities, and also vary between late-flower, fast-fill hybrids and early-flower, long-fill hybrids within a maturity. This ensures that all your hybrids are not pollinating at the same time, reducing your risk during hot, dry weather.