What will future corn hybrids look like?

Jaynie Norman • Feb 02, 2021

Dave Nanda | Ohio Farmer Feb 02, 2021

Predicting the future is difficult, but here is one veteran breeder’s best guess.

More than 20 years ago, when Tom Bechman, editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer, visited my research nurseries at Stewart Seeds near Greensburg, Ind., he asked me what future corn hybrids would look like and how much they would yield. I remember telling him plants would be shorter and shaped like Christmas trees to capture greater amounts of sunlight, with potential yields of 500 bushels.

I think corn plants of the future will be much shorter, 5 to 7 feet. Total number of leaves may vary from 12 to 16, depending on the relative maturity. That is fewer than the normal number of leaves per plant today. The distance between leaves will be smaller.

Corn plants will not produce tillers. Plants at the five- to seven-leaf stage will decide whether to produce one or more ears based on their micro- and macroenvironments. However, most hybrids will be genetically programmed to produce only one ear. By the eight- to 10-leaf stage, plants will decide the number of kernel rows to produce, depending on relative maturity of the hybrid. Most hybrids of the future will have girthy ears with 20 to 24 rows of kernels.

More decisions

By the 11- to 13-leaf stage, corn plants will decide the number of ovules, or potential kernels, per row. At pollination, if there are plenty of nutrients and enough water available, plants may decide to add a few more kernels at the tips. Each plant already tries to maximize its viable progeny based on its genetic potential and environment — that won’t change in the future.

If it turns hot and dry, plants may decide to abort the last-pollinated kernels near the tips and try to produce fewer but very healthy, viable progeny.

Each plant will try to maximize its progeny based on its genetic potential limited by its macro- and microenvironments. I had the good fortune of developing some widely adapted hybrids that could flex both in number of kernel rows as well as ear length.

When plants enter grain fill, and if weather conditions are favorable in late summer, they may increase kernel depth. Cool and moist weather is favorable for this phase. As plants move into the half milk-line stage of kernel development, they may add test weight to kernels. This is somewhat limited by hybrid genetics. Some hybrids have a heavier test weight than others.

It is very important to protect leaves from diseases earlier in the season by spraying foliar fungicides if the hybrid is susceptible to prevalent fungal diseases.

Future plant density, spacing

Ear size of future hybrids will be smaller so they can be supported by thinner but stiffer stalks of 5 to 7 feet tall. Plants will be grown at 70,000 to 80,000 plants per acre in equidistant spacing of 9- to 10-inch, diamond-shaped rows. This will occur rather than the square spacing between plants in adjacent rows common today.

How can this happen? Progressive manufacturers and innovative companies and farmers are already making strides. If the demand for equipment capable of delivering this planting pattern increases, someone will build it!

The ideal ear type of future hybrids will have the ability to vary both number of kernel rows as well as number of kernels per row, depending on the environment at various stages of growth.

Nanda is director of genetics for Seed Genetics Direct, Jeffersonville, Ohio. Email dave.nanda@gmail.com or call 317-910-9876.The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

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Jaynie Norman

Bill would label livestock rivals as ‘imitation’ or ‘lab-grown’ meat

By Jaynie Norman • 01 Feb, 2024

By Chuck Abbott Successful Farming With U.S. approval of cultivated chicken grown in fermentation vats, farm-state lawmakers filed companion bills in the House and Senate on Tuesday to require alternative proteins, such as plant-based foods, to carry the words “imitation” or “lab-grown” on their labels. Sponsors said they wanted to prevent confusion in the supermarket between “real farm-raised meat” and its rivals. Plant-based meats accounted for 2.5% of retail packaged meat sales in 2022, according to the Good Food Institute, a think tank and network of organizations “working to accelerate alternative protein innovation.” Only a trickle of cultivated chicken is on the U.S. market at present. Upside Foods said last September it would build a commercial-scale plant to produce cell-cultured meat products in suburban Chicago. The USDA is working on label regulations for cultivated meat. In the interim, it decided Upside Foods and Good Meat, which were cleared last summer by USDA to sell cultivated meat to consumers, would label their products as cell-cultivated chicken. “The American consumer deserves to know what they are eating and feeding their family,” said sponsor Rep. Mark Alford, Missouri Republican. “It’s only fair that all products are labeled fairly.” Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said, “Distinguishing between a black-bean burger and an actual beef burger shouldn’t be hard.” Under the legislation, foods made with plant protein and that are sold with a name associated with products from a food-bearing animal or that are created to taste or look like them would be required to carry the word “imitation” on the label or a word to show the source of the protein. “Meatless chicken tenders” would be one possibility, according to a summary of the bill. Similarly, labels for cultivated meat would include “cell-cultured” or “lab-grown” immediately adjacent to the name of the food. The bill was backed by the largest groups speaking for cattle, hog, sheep, and chicken producers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Livestock producers have argued for years for restrictive labels to prevent alternative proteins from using names associated with animals. A one-page summary of the bill is available here . To read the text of the legislation, click here .

Prevention and Treatment of Tick Bites

By Jaynie Norman • 23 May, 2023

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Livestock and Animal Antibiotic Changes are Coming Soon

By Jaynie Norman • 12 Jan, 2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in June 2021 that all medically important antimicrobials for food-producing animals and pets will move from over-the-counter (OTC) to prescription (Rx) effective June 2023 . A prescription is already required for most antibiotics delivered to livestock, and the remaining three categories of injectable antibiotics available over-the-counter will soon be joining the list of medically important antimicrobials that require a veterinarian’s prescription. To add to the stress of raising livestock, now things will change again which is going to influence the ag industry overall. I hope that this list of medications will give people a chance to read it and become familiar with the situation before the change comes in June of 2023. Changes Coming are as follow: In 2018, the FDA established a 5 year plan for supporting antimicrobial supervision by veterinarians. The plans purpose to address antimicrobial resistance using only medically necessary drugs as necessary to prevent, treat and control disease. It has to be determined by a licensed veterinarian if it is necessary, but you won’t have to order the prescriptions from the vet directly. You will, however, need to establish a Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) if certain animals are not examined regularly. Popular Products Will Require Prescriptions Following a recent penicillin shortage, soon producers will get hit with this change that once again impacts access to antibiotic therapy for animals. When you’ve used them for so long as OTC meds to treat pneumonia or shipping fever in your livestock, Now, the change will be to establish the relationship with your veterinarian to get the prescriptions for these meds. Here is the list by active ingredients. The following are some products that will be seeing label changes to prescription-only status: Oxytetracyclines Injectables: Liquamycin LA-200, Noromycin 300 LA, Bio-Mycin 200, Agrimycin 200, etc. Boluses: Terramycin Scours Tablets, OXY 500 Calf Boluses Penicillins (Penicillin G procaine, penicillin G benzathine) Injectables: Penicillin Injectable, Dura-Pen, Pro-Pen-G, Combi-Pen 48, etc. Intramammary tubes: Masti-Clear, Go-dry, Albadry Plus Sulfa-based antibiotics (Sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine) Injectables: Di-Methox 40%, SulfMed 40% Boluses: Albon, Sustain III Cattle & Calf Boluses, Supra Sulfa III Cattle & Calf Boluses Tylosin Injectables: Tylan 50, Tylan 200 Cephapirin, cephapirin benzathine Intramammary tubes: ToDAY and ToMORROW Additionally, several swine medications fall under the new guidance: Lincomycin Injectables: Lincomix 100, Lincomix 300, LincoMed 100, LincoMed 300 Gentamicin Injectables: Garasol, Gentamicin Piglet Injection ToDay Mastitis Treatment for Lactating C ows