How do you like your eggs? Maybe you like them scrambled, sunny side up or over easy. Maybe you prefer them hard-boiled. If you order breakfast at a restaurant and the selection includes eggs, you will have to make the choice.

How you take your eggs may seem like a minor point considering all the decisions you will make and the work you will do the rest of the day. But if you have breakfast the way you like it, it may get your day off to a good start.

How do you prefer corn ears to be positioned as black layer and then harvest approach? It won’t be a waitress asking the question, but it might be a seed sales representative or even an agronomist. Do you prefer a hybrid that holds ears close to the stalk in an upright position until black layer, when they may eventually drop down? Or do you want ears that drop down early, even before black layer?

Dave Nanda, an independent consultant based in Indianapolis, prefers hybrids that let ears stick out from the stalk and drop to a downward position as black layer approaches. Corn Watch ’17 is sponsored by Seed Genetics-Direct, Washington Court House, Ohio.

Why drop?
“If a hybrid allows ears to drop and point downward as black layer approaches, it typically helps speed drydown,” Nanda says. “That is the primary reason I like to see hybrids that let ears fall and point down along the side of the stalk as drydown begins. Experience has taught me that it’s a trait which tends to help in drydown.”

The Corn Watch ’17 field features two hybrids with distinctly different genetics from two different companies, planted side by side across the field. One hybrid allowed ears to drop to the side and point downward as harvest approached. The other held ears tighter to the stalk until much closer to harvest.

It may not be a deciding factor in which hybrid you decide to plant next year, Nanda acknowledges. Many other factors come into play, including yield as a huge factor. But Nanda believes it’s still valuable to walk fields and make these kinds of observations during the growing season. He likes to note things such as tassel structure, leaf width and, yes, how ears hang as the end of the season approaches.

Some argue there can be a downside for hybrids that allow ears to drop into the harvest position too early. Their point is that if the tissue holding the ear to the stalk is not strong enough, the ear may drop prematurely and fall to the ground. Nanda suggests that how well the ear is attached to the stalk is also a matter of genetics. You can have hybrids that allow ears to drop but that still hold on to them tightly.

It’s just another factor to consider as you’re reviewing summer and fall notes, he suggests.