Available Hybrids

The first general survey of hybrid corn acreage in the Southern States, made in 1941, gave us the estimate that 1,029,000 acres were planted to hybrids in the South that year; in 1946 the acreage was 5,469,000.

Kentucky, Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have been able to utilize some of the later Corn Belt inbred lines and hybrids. But the Southeastern States have not been able to use them, except in a limited way, in the mountains or to grow early feed for livestock. The expansion of hybrid corn in the Southeast, therefore, depends on development of suitable local hybrids. The expanding acreages of hybrid corn in these States are evidence that suitable hybrids are becoming available rapidly.

Among the hybrids adapted to the Southeast, the Tennessee hybrids developed by the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station and the Department have had the largest commercial expansion. These hybrids, of which Tennessee Hybrids 10 and 15 are most popular, are combinations among inbred lines out of Neal Paymaster. They resemble Neal Paymaster in general characteristics and fit into the general territory in which that variety has been grown in the past. In 34 comparisons conducted in Tennessee between 1939 and 1945, their average yield exceeded that of Neal Paymaster and Jellicorse by 8 percent, or 5 bushels an acre. Tennessee Hybrids 10 and 15 have performed satisfactorily in most of Tennessee, much of northern Alabama and Mississippi, and in the Piedmont area from North Carolina to Georgia. Their greatest weakness is their tendency to lodge; they are not much better than Neal Paymaster in that respect. A new yellow hybrid that has done well in two seasons of trials was produced commercially on a limited scale in 1946. The estimated 1945 production of certified hybrid seed corn in Tennessee was 87,098 bushels, or enough to plant about 600,000 acres in 1946.

An estimated 47,000 bushels of seed of North Carolina corn hybrids were produced there in 1946, enough for approximately 325,000 acres in 1947. Somewhat more than 90 percent of that production was of the four yellow hybrids, North Carolina 26, T11, 27, and 1032, developed cooperatively by the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and the Department. North Carolina Hybrid 1032 has extremely strong roots and stalks; in eight tests in the Piedmont area of North Carolina in 1943 and 1945 it outyielded the standard varieties by 21.5 percent. It also exceeded the standard varieties in yield by 18.5 percent in 10 tests in the coastal plain area of that State in 1942, 1943, and 1944. The yield record of North Carolina Hybrid 26 has surpassed that of 1032. North Carolina T11, a top cross, is one of the older North Carolina hybrids and it probably will be replaced soon with a double cross. North Carolina 27 is a relatively new combination of much promise. It is slightly later in maturing than the other three yellow hybrids.

A limited amount of seed of two white hybrids, North Carolina 1111 and T20, also was produced in 1946. They have excellent records in yield, but they probably will not be widely used because they do not stand appreciably better than the open-pollinated varieties. A group of experimental hybrids already tested 2 or 3 years promises to be materially better than those now in commercial production.

Seed of six hybrids developed in cooperation with the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station sufficient for planting about 85,000 acres in 1947 was produced in 1946. Two of them, Louisiana Hybrids 468 and 518 are white dent; one, Louisiana Hybrid 731, is a yellow dent; one, Louisiana Hybrid 2909, is a yellow flint similar to Creole Yellow Flint; and two, Louisiana Hybrids 1030 and 1031, have mixed yellow and white kernels. The Louisiana hybrids in commercial production have exceeded the standard Louisiana open-pollinated varieties in yield by about 30 percent. The white dent hybrids have performed satisfactorily in tests in Mississippi and Georgia, as well as in Louisiana. Louisiana Hybrid 2909 is particularly suited to the sugarcane areas of both Louisiana and Florida. The yellow dent hybrid, 731, is a new combination that should be well suited to the central portion of the State. Louisiana Hybrid 1030, the better of the two hybrids with mixed kernel color, has the best record for lodging resistance of any of the Louisiana hybrids and promises to become very popular for that reason. It also has an enviable record for resistance to the corn earworm and to weevils.

Florida Hybrid W-1, a white, prolific hybrid developed by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, has established a good record of performance in Florida and the southern coastal plain of Georgia. It has been produced commercially on a limited scale and seed production is gradually expanding. On fertile soils, Florida W-1 is tall, high-eared, and tends to lodge rather badly because of weak roots.

Some of the experimental hybrids developed in cooperation with the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station appear promising. One of these made an outstanding record in 1945 and limited quantities of seed of it were produced in 1946. If it continues to perform satisfactorily it probably will enter commercial production within the next few years.