b'Were well off the short historical pace of the last seven years, but were still sitting pretty good, he says, adding that on the irrigated land, theres been averages of 270 bushels per acre, but hes expecting less this year on those areas as well. For 2023s season, Grundmayer says Nebraska might still suffer from drought.Our dry pattern started last October and continues. Seventy percent of the state of Nebraska is in a severe drought, while 40% is in either extreme or exceptional drought, he says. I think its going to have a big impact on what plans are for next grow-ing season.In terms of other areas of the Midwest, like Indiana, drought hasnt been a concern around most of the statebut differentBob Nielsen. Mark Grundmayer.areas of the state have had a mixed bag at the start of harvest.Its been a little hard to describe Indiana with one adjec-tive this year, because weve had a mixed bag around the state,AgReliant Genetics. Were seeing a lot of stress this year in plots both in terms of the planting progress initially and as the rest ofand in producers fields as we drive by.the summer played out, says Bob Nielsen, Purdue UniversityThough a tough year with high temperatures and drought Extension corn specialist and professor of agronomy.is tough on a grower, for a breeder, its a gift to see how stress Areas of the state were challenged at the start of the seasonaffects crops.with frequent rains, causing planting to be delayed. However,As breeders, our most effective tool is selection, he says. other areas of Indiana got planting wrapped up as early as possi- We need to take advantage of a year like thisone that pre-ble. Now, a drought keeps trying to extend its fingers throughoutsents us with a lot of environments where stress is prevalent to the Corn Belt. make sure that we advance the hybrids that have really good We had areas of the state, primarily Central and maybe inperformance under this type of stress. the north central areas, that got pretty dryenough that itIn addition, that means weeding out genetics that perform caused concern, he adds. I know certainly all the field trials thatpoorly throughout the year, whether its zipper ears, issues with I have scattered around the state, there were a couple of sitespollination or overall lower yield under those conditions.that we were pretty concerned with. But, to really choose the best performers, management styles At this point in harvest, Nielsen says theres still a lot of specu- have to be considered as well.lation. But, he believes that in his trials scattered around theYou have to keep in mind if it was a high population or low state, they still have sites that yields will be above average due topopulation, Popelka says.timely rainfall.More importantly, though, is looking for stability within a The drier areas, however, have experienced a bit more stresshybrid. While it might be beneficial to solely look for drought than normal. tolerance, its not the only thing youre going to see in a year. Some of those areas that had been dry for extended periodsHow often do you see drought environments in most of the certainly took its toll in many ways throughout the season, par- Corn Belt? Popelka asks. It hasnt been very prevalent the last ticularly in the last month, and have remained dry during grainfew years, and 2012 was the last big drought year we had com-fill, he says. Its put a lot of pressure on the plant. In the last twopared to this year. In breeding, what youre looking for is stability or three weeks, these fields have been experiencing some severe you want hybrids that do well at high yield and hybrids that do stress during grain filling, and it tends to cause some prematurewell at low yield.death in the field and a higher risk of stalk lodging/breakageTesting that stability comes with plenty of environment test-before harvest. ing across the U.S. On a year like this, the integrity and uniformity Mix that with other stressors as hurricane season moved in,of trials can be tested. and Nielsen has a bit more concern especially depending onAny variation in the fieldwhether its soil variation, irrigation what Mother Nature decides to throw towards Indiana as harvestequipment failures, etc.is going to show up in the data. If your reached its peak.locations are uniform, thats going to give you higher quality data, he says. Thats key under stressensuring data is uniform.Can Plant Breeding Ease the Concerns? From there, double checking stability is the next step. As drought continued to spread across the Midwest, particularlyEnsuring that you arent seeing a large amount of tipback or in the more western areas such as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa andunpollinated ears is important, as you want to see corn looking Texas, breeders are looking to tackle the question: are there anyconsistent across the row, especially in drought and heat stress. ways to help create a good, all-around genetics that can betterDuring difficult years, consistency is key in trials. withstand drought?Again, selection is the greatest tool a breeder has, Popelka Its been a really strong year of both high temperatures,says. Weve had it for hundreds of years, and it works really especially around pollination and after, coupled with the lack ofwellselecting the best hybrids under these environments will rain, says Mike Popelka, hybrid product breeders manager foralways give you an improved genetic base.SW58/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2022'