Pam Smith, Farm Journal Seeds & Production Editor
The word SmartStax may already be commonplace in your vocabulary, but Farm Journal was recently on hand to see some of the first bags of DeKalb Brand Genuity SmartStax corn roll off the production line. This new all-in-one trait combination is being launched for the 2010 growing season.
Watch the first bags on the production line:
Al Henderson, plant manager at Monsanto’s state-of-the-art seed production facility in Grinnell, Iowa, tells us seed quality of the new high-tech corn has been excellent. Seed corn gets harvested in higher moisture levels and production handled by this facility was lucky enough to dodge most of the late season, wet weather woes now being experienced by farmers, says Henderson.
Matthew Brandt, DeKalb Marketing Product Manager, says SmartStax will be the largest trait launch in the DeKalb’s history. The company expects 2 million acres of hybrids containing the advanced traits to be planted in 2010. The trait package was co-developed with Dow AgroSciences and you’ll find the technology being offered by other providers. Total planted SmartStax acreage is expected to tally 3 to 4 million acres during the 2010 planting season.
Field test plots are experiencing some of the same harvest delays as farmers, says Tom Fry, Regional Agronomy Lead for Monsanto. Corn growers interested in comparing yield results should monitor the website: www.monsantoperformance.com.
Fry says SmartStax hybrids experienced less feeding damage from corn earworm, which ultimately helps fend off harmful pathogens and molds. The company is taking orders for the new hybrids. For the 2010 growing season, Genuity SmartStax products are planned to be offered in maturities ranging from 83-day to 113-day relative maturity.
You can email Pam Smith at psmith@farmjournal.com.
