After a cold, wet start across much of the U.S., #PlantNK22 is finally well underway — and that includes a number of Field Forged Series™ test plots, which will allow farmers to see how the elite portfolio of NK® Field Forged Series™ corn products work in their own local growing environments.
Field Forged Series Corn Hybrids Test Plot: University of Tennessee at Martin
Brad McAlpin, NK sales representative for Tennessee and the Purchase Region of Kentucky, recently teamed up with Nathan Bradford, farm manager for the University of Tennessee at Martin, to plant a corn plot on land owned by the university.
“This is a dryland plot that tends to stay wetter, which allows us to get a good look at how our hybrids do in our typical clay soils with poor drainage, or ‘crawfish dirt,’” says McAlpin
“We’ll be looking at 110- to 118-day-maturity NK corn hybrids in the plot, including three with new genetics, and we’ll be testing against three competitive hybrids.”
The university allows NK to host field day events and other retailer and farmer events at the test plot, allowing many stakeholders the opportunity to see the trials firsthand. McAlpin says they will have both irrigated and dryland soybean plots at the site, and they’ve recently planted a pivot-irrigated corn plot. When Brad shared an update with The Amplifier in early May, he was intending to plant soybeans the week of May 16 and then conduct regular stand counts and emergence scores to determine how products are performing.
New NK Dryland Plot: Dresden, Tennessee
McAlpin and Bradford will also be working with a group of students from Dresden High School to conduct plot trials in Dresden, Tennessee. It’s a new location for the pair, who will plant the same hybrid sets (110- to 118-day relative maturity) on a dryland hill farm.
“There are plenty of dry hill farms in my geography, so this will provide great data to showcase what we have to offer for similar soil types and topography in my area.”
“This is one of the few high schools that I know of that offers an ag-based curriculum. Jason Kemp, who’s spearheading this project, does a tremendous job of helping the students understand the end-to-end process of modern agriculture,” McAlpin says.
The students will use the grain produced from the plot to feed their beef cattle herd.
Check The Amplifier throughout the 2022 growing season for plot trial updates from both locations.
All photos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.
© 2022 Syngenta. NK®, Field Forged Series™ and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.