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NE CO | I decided this summer that I was going to quit planting RR corn and go back to conventional herbicides, Balance Pro for the most part. I was astonished when I started searching the corn seed company guides. There were zero conventional varies for my area in the Asgro/Dekalb book and two in the Croplan book. NK is supposed to have a few still, including one still based on a variety that was popular here 10 years ago. Obviously no new genetics are being bred in conventional corns anymore.
I guess we knew this was coming, but I didn't realize it was already here. I ordered two Pioneer varieties last spring, and when planting time came, only one was available, and the seed I received was from a dozen different seed lots. I thought at the time that there must not be much non-GMO seed in inventory.
I want to go back to conventional corns because the RR economics no longer are an advantage here. Weed species shifts and glyphosate tolerance are also developing issues. Two glyphosate sprayings at 28 oz/acre adds up to nearly $20 for chemical alone, with lots of weeds later if we get rains before our crop has canopied due to early drought conditions. One spraying of 2 oz of Balance Pro runs about $11 plus atrazine. And I had cleaner corn this year in the Balance Pro fields.
Also, I either fallow or plant proso millet in the corn stalks next year and the RR volunteer is difficult/expensive to control in no-till.
Any suggestions for sources of non-RR seed would be welcome. I'm looking for a 95-105 day corn suitable for low populations in a low rainfall dryland situation. Expected yields are around 50-90 bu/ac. | |
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No Non-RR Corn Anymore
