Selecting hybrids for no-till requires special attention because residue and lack of tillage slow soil warming and drying. Seedling vigor takes on greater importance in no-till. As seed ages into its second and third year, medium flats retain seedling vigor better than other grade sizes. Therefore, we recommend medium-flat seed for no-till.
Delayed emergence from cool, wet, no-till soils slows maturity. For that reason, mid-season maturing hybrids are encouraged over full-season hybrids. Cooler seedbeds and poorer soil-to-seed contact causes thinner plant populations. That’s why flex-ear hybrids are recommended over fixed-ear hybrids.
Crop residue carries many corn diseases and insects to the next crop, intensifying these pressures in no-till settings. Hybrids with strong leaf-disease resistance and staygreen are required to fight off leaf diseases. Thick rinds provide stalk quality if hybrids are killed prematurely by disease. The lack of tillage in no-till makes weed control challenging. Roundup Ready® and LibertyLink® production systems offer total postemergent weed control solutions at least equal in efficacy to most conventional systems. In combination with the right genetics, these technologies offer additional tools for no-till.