Ron Sloan is all ears when new corn traits hit the market. This year he devoted 1000 acres to DeKalb Genuity SmartStax and the move is paying off in added kernels and quality.
“I’ve never seen ear worm pressure like we had this year,” says Sloan, Pana, Ill. “I’m impressed by the difference in feeding I’m finding when I compare this new stacked technology to other fields.” Pulling ears from a field of DeKalb Genuity SmartStax 61-21, Sloan finds ears virtually free of feeding.
However, an adjacent field of DeKalb VT Triple without in-plant corn ear worm protection had extensive kernal damage. Every third ear or so still contains the evidence that an ear worm once dined here. To make matters worse, birds got the news that corn fed ear worms were having a field day and they turned into winged predators. “Birds feeding really opened those ear tips up to moisture and molds,” he adds.
New to the market this year, SmartStax combines insect protection of Herculex and YieldGard VT to deliver multiple modes of action. The combination of traits was developed under a cross-licensing agreement between Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto. Multiple modes of action for both above and below ground pests work together to improve insect protection and minimize the potential for insect resistance. The stacked traits are effective in protecting crops from major corn pests, including European and southwestern corn borer, northern and western corn rootworm, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, corn earworm and fall armyworm.
Travel to the field with us to listen in as Sloan describes what he’s finding this fall…
Read more on SmartStax trait technology: www.genuity.com and www.dowagro.com
