Hemmed in by tall corn, the last stop at the recent Terral field day was the hottest. It was also the most visually dramatic as the plants had been painstakingly stripped to reveal large, yellow ears.

“This corn was planted March 9,” said Phil Michener, Terral corn breeder. “It had been in the ground about a month when the Easter freeze froze it back to the ground. What you see is what came back. So, we're dealing with good resiliency in these hybrids after a rough early go.”

One thing Terral prides itself on “is staying current. You may have noticed our neighbor's place has more stripped-back corn. That's a twin-row strip plot we put in. There's a lot of interest in twin-row cropping systems in the Delta states.”

Not all corn hybrids that work well in single-row work equally well in twin rows. “We will make sure you have the answers to maximize profitability and performance on your farm. By the time seed gets to you in the bag … there are years of data to back the hybrid up. The performance is proven before it's marketed.”

Michener then introduced several Terral corn offerings.

TV25R31: “At one time, I believed this was one of the three best Roundup corn hybrids in the Mid-South. I'm now convinced it's the best Roundup corn in the Mid-South.”

The variety's yield is comparable to most stacked varieties in the marketplace.

“When you drive by and see 25R31 in the field, the ears don't look very impressive. But I encourage you to walk about four rows deep and grab an ear. Break the cob open and you'll find a pencil-thin cob that has grain upon grain stacked in there. It packs the grain in tight.”

26BR61: “This is a yield monster. It's a super-high test weight corn. In my research plots, it typically falls between 60 and 61 pounds. I don't think I've seen it drop below a 59-pound test weight.”

In a high management/high input environment, “this variety has been over 240 bushels routinely.”

25BR23: Michener spends a lot of time traveling across the Mid-South. “I don't think I've been on a farm yet that couldn't use this hybrid. It's the most widely adapted, spectacular hybrid in the South. In a light soil/cotton ground, high input situation, it has a 225-bushel yield potential.”

It also works well in heavy, more marginal corn ground.

“It has a level of yield stability unrivaled in the industry. It's also a good one to use if you're on cut ground — pH doesn't seem to bother it as much. If you're a bit late with nitrogen, it doesn't seem to be bothered as much.

“You really have to do a lot of things wrong, or have a lot of bad things happen for it not to produce exceptional yields. This has been a proven performer for years.”

26BR41: “This is a widely-adapted hybrid brought in specifically for cotton rotation. It really likes lighter, cotton-type soils. The yield potential is very high is high management/high input environments.

“It handles stresses very well. For example, it seems to handle north and east Texas well. It also does well in Arkansas.”

25BR71: This is a new product for Terral in 2007. “The story on this one is much like 25R31. The ears don't look really impressive as you drive by at 30 miles per hour. But hop out of the truck and barrel in a few rows, and the ears will hold big, toothy grain packed in tight.

“It's an excellent product and I've seen it in a lot of locations this year. It's almost scary how much yield potential this one has.”

TVX25R703: “This is an experimental that we're bringing to market in 2008 as TV24R83. It yields like nothing I've seen before. It needs to go in a high management/high input environment where it'll be pushed. That push doesn't necessarily need to come from plant populations but from inputs. It's a big, tall hybrid — it has 8 inches on a lot of other hybrids. We have a lot of faith it will be a big performer in years to come.”