The Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council have released their 2017 research summary report.

The summary reviews research supported by more than $4 million annually in Minnesota corn checkoff dollars aimed at improving agricultural practices and creating new opportunities for corn farmers.

A few of the research projects in this year’s report are:

Moving corn north: developing the next generation of early-maturing products. The long-term goal of this project was to create a common and diverse short-season gene pool for the development of the next generation of northern U.S. hybrids.

Minnesota corn farmers spend millions of dollars in corn grain drying due to the lack of short-season, faster-drying corn hybrids. Fast field drydown is one of the most important features for the stability of short-season corn hybrids. Scientists devised a faster phenotyping methodology to identify drought-tolerant lines and hybrids with easier screening of root systems. Genetically, narrow-based corn hybrids have shown to be susceptible to climate changes.

During the time of the project, more than 30 new corn products were released, one new breeding method was invented, 100% tropical varieties were — for the first time — adapted to short-season environments, and a new gene pool has been created to develop the next generation of early-maturing products.

The tropical genes have allowed unique traits, such as disease resistance, and unique trait combinations, such as top yields with faster drier non-GMO hybrids, that were not available before for this region. Cold-and drought-tolerant hybrids are available for marginal Minnesota regions as well.

Corn nitrogen recommendations in uncertain times. This project had several components, including quantifying the response to N fertilizer in first-year corn after alfalfa on several farms with fine-textured soils, and comparing yield and economic return for near-planting and sidedress N fertilizer applications at these sites.

Field research was conducted over two years. In 2013, scientists conducted an intensive drought stress experiment in each of three fields with contrasting levels of soil N supply potential at the University of Minnesota Sand Plain Research Farm near Becker, Minn.

In 2014, in nine alfalfa fields across the state, scientists evaluated the economics and the response of first-year corn to N fertilizer rates applied near planting or as a sidedress on 14 farm experiments.

In the Becker location, researchers found that grain yield did not differ between drought-tolerant and standard hybrids in the absence of drought stress, or when sustained drought stress occurred from the R2 to R6 corn stages. However, grain yield was 11% greater with the drought-tolerant hybrid when sustained drought stress occurred from the V14 to R6 corn stages. Response to N fertilizer did not differ between hybrids.

On the seven of 14 farms across the state where grain yield was increased with N fertilizer, the average economic optimum N rate for net return was 9 to 26 pounds N per acre higher on three farms; 58 to 67 pounds N per acre higher on two farms; and 6 to 29 pounds N per acre lower on two farms for N that was applied near planting, compared to as a sidedress. Researchers say that results from these trials will help growers improve economic returns and environmental stewardship.

In this report, researchers also noted that by using predictors such as alfalfa stand age, autumn precipitation and temperature prior to first-year corn, they developed a field-specific N recommendation system that can identify fields where first-year corn will respond to N fertilizer, and they can predict the economically optimum N fertilizer rate prior to April of the corn year.

However, they added, this field-specific N recommendation system for first-year corn after alfalfa needs validation in on-farm trials prior to farmer adoption.

Corn seeding rate by nitrogen rate study. Research was conducted from 2012 through 2014 to investigate nitrogen fertilizer and plant populations for corn, where yield goals are higher-than-average corn yield. Trials were established at Lamberton, Waseca and Rochester, Minn., using N rates of 65 to 200 pounds N per acre, and populations ranging from 33,000 seeds per acre to 43,000 seeds per acre in 30-inch rows.

Response to nitrogen fertilizer was different in 2014 than in either 2012 or 2013. In 2012-13, maximum corn yields were achieved at all locations with nitrogen rates between 110 and 155 pounds N per acre.

In 2014 at the Waseca location, corn yield increased with N rates of 200 pounds N per acre. Researchers noted that this was likely the result of N loss through denitrification and leaching because of an extremely wet spring in Waseca this year. The Waseca location received nearly 13 inches of rain in June 2014.

At Lamberton, corn yields did not increase when using nitrogen rates above 155 pounds N per acre. At Rochester, corn yield did not increase when using nitrogen rates above 110 pounds N per acre.

Response to plant population in 2014 was similar to other years. At all locations, there was no increase in yield for the population of 42,000 seeds per acre, compared to either 30,000 or 36,000 seeds per acre.

At Lamberton, corn yield increased as plant population was increased from 30,000 seeds per acre to 36,000 seeds per acre. At Waseca and Rochester, no yield increases were measured at plant populations above 30,000 seeds per acre.

No location showed a significant nitrogen rate by population interaction, indicating the optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate does not need to be changed as corn plant populations are increased to 42,000 seeds per acre.

To read the entire research summary, visit bit.ly/cornresearchsummary17.