Maize is one of the most common agricultural crops in world agriculture and has become a strategic crop for Ukraine in recent years, which is grown in almost all regions, regardless of climatic conditions and the size of farms. The trend of increasing the popularity of culture will remain for many more years, because according to analysts’ forecasts, world consumption will increase by more than 25% over the next ten years. This is, first of all, a culture with a high level of productivity and economic attractiveness. The farmer, regardless of his land fund and financial power, constantly has the question of where to find the same universal hybrid, the cultivation of which in any weather conditions, on different nutritional backgrounds would be economically attractive. Of course, there is nothing universal in the world, and even more so in the plant kingdom. If the hybrid or variety is highly productive, then its resistance to various stresses or its quality, as a rule, suffers, if it is highly resistant to stresses, then do not expect a super high yield. But among all the diversity there are unique genotypes that break the system – one of them is the mid-early hybrid Megan with FAO 250 from the Eurosem company.
Agronomists, choosing a new hybrid, look primarily at yield. But in our difficult time, when the price of energy carriers is rising rapidly, and in the peak season it can jump several times, the question of energy efficiency of growing any crop becomes on the same level as productivity, and sometimes it can even exceed it. For corn, the issue of moisture yield and harvesting moisture is one of the most painful, when drying wet grain can cost more than half of all costs for growing a hybrid. If the yield potential of the hybrid is very high, but the moisture yield is “lame”, you cannot count on big profits. More often than not, a less productive hybrid, but with a low harvesting moisture of the grain, will give more profit.
The resistance of the hybrid to pathogens is of great importance, because growing corn in monoculture is becoming more and more common among farmers in many regions. And this, first of all, leads to the accumulation of pathogens and pests. How to find the same universal hybrid? – only by testing hybrids in the field to see first-hand their advantages, possible disadvantages and main properties. Neighboring farmers play an important role in this process – someone will observe and rejoice at the good results, then sow the same hybrid, others will smile at various shortcomings or be jealous of success.
For the Ukrainian farmer, the seasons of 2020 and 2021 were extremely difficult, controversial and a test of strength and professionalism. If 2020 was a test year for drought resistance, when most regions experienced incredible drought, then 2021 will be a cool spring, excessive precipitation in the first half and heat and droughts in the second half of the summer, late ripening and harvesting of crops with high grain moisture levels. It is in these difficult conditions that the best, universal genotypes stand out.
We will give several examples from production experiments over the years, made in different soil and climate zones and weather conditions.
One of the examples of FG “Makhach” in the Reshetyliv district of the Poltava region, which was initially skeptical about the Megan hybrid, arguing that it could have a low level of siliceous-tooth type moisture transfer and low resistance to diseases. It was to refute or confirm this statement that sowing was carried out in a field located in a lowland. In this field, corn has been grown continuously for three years.
The crop nutrition system on the experimental field is quite extreme – with a transition to nitrogen, other elements were added only through foliar feeding. Fertilizers were not applied during the main treatment, only during sowing 90 kg/ha of urea. Sowing was carried out on April 25, 2020 with a SUPN-6A seeder to a depth of 6-7 cm at the recommended rate of 70 thousand/ha at optimal air and soil temperatures.
Four hybrids with FAO from 250 to 320 took part in the experiment. Two hybrids from Eurosem Megan (FAO 250) and Orilskaya (FAO 320) and two from Pioner P8812 (FAO 290) and PR39B76 (FAO 280) were sown. A sufficient amount of moisture in the soil and an optimal temperature contributed to obtaining friendly seedlings. But a sharp decrease in temperature after a significant amount of precipitation in the phase of 2-3 leaves caused stress in the plants, stopped development, and the leaves of the plants acquired a purple color. And just now, the degree of cold resistance of experimental hybrids was discovered. In order to improve plant nutrition conditions and get out of stress, non-root processing was carried out with a mixture of 5 kg/ha of urea + 3 kg/ha of magnesium sulfate + 1 kg/ha of WS NPK 20-20-20+TE , as well as shallow inter-row processing to disturb the soil crust . The very first thing, almost the next day, Megan’s hybrid was relieved of stress.
Naturally, weeds appeared on the field against which Master POWER herbicide was used at the rate of 1.5 l/ha in the phase of 5-6 leaves of corn. After 7 days, the second inter-row treatment was carried out and non-root top dressing with a mixture of 5 kg/ha urea + 3 kg/ha magnesium sulfate + 1 kg/ha WS NPK 20-20-20+TE .
.
Fairly favorable weather in the first half of the corn growing season gave way to extreme weather. Since the end of June, hot weather has come without precipitation. Corn comes from the tropics, so it feels great in the range of 25-35 o C, of course it can withstand higher temperatures for a short time, but each genotype experiences this stress with different consequences, in any case it affects productivity. Corn plants, fighting heat and drought, curl their leaves, and with prolonged exposure to stress, the leaves turn yellow and dry, starting from the lower tiers. In this case, almost all hybrids, following tradition, twisted and later began to drop the leaves of the lower tier. And Megan’s hybrid went against the principle – the leaves twisted and climbed up the mountain, the plants became like columns. At the same time, the leaves of the lower tier did not turn yellow, they were also green. Even at night, plants of the Megan hybrid did not drop their leaves. This led to the concern of the farmer and smiles from the neighbors, as if they were not growing corn, but sticks, which would then be used only for firewood.
To support plants in the critical phase and provide additional nutrition, the third non-root top dressing with a tank mixture of 5 kg/ha magnesium sulfate + 3 kg/ha urea + 1 kg/ha WS NPK 20-20-20+TE is completed .
The Megan hybrid continued to be in this form until the flowering phase. Growth and development took place according to its biological schedule, although the leaves were constantly twisted uphill, they had a dark green color on the entire plant. Suddenly, during flowering, the leaves of the Megan hybrid straightened and remained in this state until harvesting, and the lower tier of the plant was never dropped. For corn, the combination of high temperature and low air humidity is extremely unfavorable for the pollination process. Very often, when such conditions occur during flowering, the cob columns quickly dry out and become resistant to pollen germination, so very few seeds are set in extremely dry weather. Megan’s hybrid bloomed 2-7 days earlier than competitors, which positively affects the fertilization process in more comfortable conditions.
On October 22, they began threshing corn in this field. The surprise of the farmer and his neighbors knew no bounds when the Megan hybrid, with the lowest FAO among all grown in this field, gave the highest yield of 10.2 t/ha, while its competitors ranged from 6.5 to 8.5 t/ha. And the moisture content of the grain did not fail, during harvesting, all hybrids ranged from 13 to 14.5%.
In the difficult weather year of 2020, Megan formed full-fledged, fully pollinated cobs 21-22 cm long with 14-16 rows of seeds, and a second full-fledged cob formed on 10-12% of the plants.
In the neighboring field on the slopes, the Megan hybrid was sown together with Fortago (FAO 260). In severe drought, Megan was more than twice ahead of the competitor with a yield of 4.8 t/ha, while the other hybrid gave only 2.2 t/ha.
It should be noted that when growing the Megan hybrid in a field with perennial corn cultivation, where pathogens and pests accumulate in a certain way, there is a heavy load on the plants. One of the most dangerous and harmful diseases of corn – slag was not detected, which indicates the high tolerance of the genotype to diseases.
In the same 2020, in the Krasnokutsky district of the Kharkiv region, in no less extreme conditions, on a large production area, the Megan hybrid with a yield of 9.3 t/ha was grown on the predecessor of corn. In the more northern region of Ukraine, Lohvytsky District, Poltava Region, 8.0 t/ha were obtained on sandy soils with 150 kg/ha nutrition (10:25:20).
No less surprising in the current 2021 was in Khmelnytskyi at the Epicenter AGRO corporation, where among the 29 hybrids of the mid-early group of “oily” firms with intensive cultivation technology, the Megan hybrid took one of the leading positions not only in terms of a yield of 15.09 t/ha, but also the lowest moisture content of grain during harvesting is 21.4%. This confirms the universality of the Megan hybrid in terms of growing technologies.
This result in 2021 is not unique – the geography of the obtained records is off the charts. More than 15.0 t/ha were obtained in the Podilsky district of the Odesa region, 10.0 t/ha in the Novoukrainsky district of the Kirovohrad region, and 9.8 t/ha in the Vilshansky district of the Kirovohrad region, where corn and corn were grown using frugal technologies. No less impressive are the results in the Kryzhopol district of the Vinnytsia region, 9.5 t/ha for soybeans applying only 250 kg/ha of urea, in the Dnipropetrovsk district of the Dnipropetrovsk region for potatoes – 9.0 t/ha, in the Kamian district of the Dnipropetrovsk region for corn – 8.5 t/ha against the background of 150 kg/ha (10:25:20).
Therefore, the Megan corn hybrid from the Evrosem company is practically a universal hybrid, which, under favorable conditions, will produce a harvest no less than the best, but with the lowest moisture content of the grain at harvest. And in difficult conditions, or with extensive technology, it will not fail either.
Sow proven hybrids – get maximum profit.