Shropshire Farming Talk: Choose reliability when it comes to maize varieties
A difficult season for maize may have prompted growers to consider different attributes when it comes to their 2025 variety selection. And demand for robust, early varieties will be high, so producers should order without delay.
The maize growing season this year was hit with various problems, as the high rainfall in March and April delayed drilling for many, with some maize only getting into the ground in late May and early June.
This was followed by a cool summer, ending with heavy rain – leading to a knock-on effect on crop development.
Obviously all these factors were completely out of the farmers' control, but the net result was that the growing season was truncated.
So when it came to harvest, yields were a mixed bag.
There have been many reports from across the country that later maturing varieties have produced disappointing results. Due to the season, these varieties were not able to accumulate the heat units (ideally more than 2200 heat units) required for them to reach full maturity.
Of course, growers can’t control the weather, but they can control the varieties sown, so what traits are they looking for in the coming season?
Growers are already placing orders for the highest performing, earliest maturing maize varieties available for the 2025 season; demand is likely to be high for this maturity group.
When it comes to choosing a variety, pay attention to the FAO number – the measurement of crop maturity – the higher the number the longer growing season, and more heat units required to reach maturity.
In most situations the variety selected should be either early or very early maturing with an FAO no higher than 170.
In such a difficult season, the differences between varieties are emphasised.
Varieties like Prospect; with an FAO of 170, and Gema; with an FAO of 140, have again demonstrated their reliability, enabling an early harvest of mature crops with good dry matter yield and high feed value.
And there are a few new varieties that growers should be considering.
Two new varieties for the 2025 season, which complement the established benchmarks, are LG Highlight – which has a similar maturity to Prospect - and LG31152, which has a similar maturity to Gema.
But if growers are considering these, then it’s important to put their orders in as soon as possible.
There will be limited quantities of seed available of the new varieties and demand is likely to be high, so growers are encouraged to order early.
by Dr Simon Pope, crop protection manager at Wynnstay.
