26 Station Bulletin 372 



It is now planned to move these trials to a lower elevation, perhaps to 

 the river valley, to see whether or not the varieties follow the same disease 

 behavior pattern they have followed on the uplands. 



P. T. Blood 



Silage and Field Corn Trials 



Silage Corn 



Thirty-two varieties and hybrids were planted May 17, 1946, at the 

 Bunker Farm plots. Nineteen seed sorts were replicated three times in 

 eighteen hill rows with each hill thinned to three plants. Because seed was 

 scarce, three seed sorts had only two replications and ten seed sorts had only 

 one row of eighteen hills. As was the case in 1945, West Branch Sweep- 

 stakes, a high-yielding, open-pollinated variety, and Cornell 29-3, an excel- 

 lent double-cross hybrid, were used as "standard checks." 



The corn silage was harvested on September 11, 1946. Twelve hills of 

 each replication were weighed for the calculation of the acre green weight 

 yield. One hill of three plants of each replication was bagged and dried to 

 obtain, on a uniform basis, the calculations of the yield of dry matter per 

 acre. 



In this eleventh year of the trials, both West Branch Sweepstakes and 

 Cornell 29-3 gave excellent yields. Ohio M-15 also continued promising. 

 One poor replication due to poor soil conditions cut the average yields of 

 Ohio K-24, Ohio 4059, and Massachusetts Hybrid 62. The new dent-sweet 

 hybrids developed at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station showed 

 considerable promise. 



Grain Corn 



Thirty varieties and hybrids in three replications of each were planted 

 May 17, 1946, at the Bunker Farm plots. Each replication contained eighteen 

 hills and each hill was thinned to three plants. The "standard checks" were 

 one local New Hampshire flint, one dent-flint hybrid, Maine "B", and one 

 open-pollinated dent, "New Hampshire 500". 



The ears were harvested on October 17 and the weights of each replica- 

 tion yield recorded. Four ears were selected at random from each replica- 

 tion for drying down to a uniform moisture content. A uniform moisture 

 basis was used to calculate the moisture loss and yield per acre of grain. 



In this eleventh year of the grain trials, the weather, previous to harvest- 

 ing, was rainy and wet. The corn kernels did not harden off properly and 

 the average moisture loss of 43.6 per cent was the highest recorded. Massa- 

 chusetts Hybrid 62, Cornell 29-3, and some of the Wisconsin hybrids gave 

 good returns. New Hampshire 500 and Wisconsin 279 were lower than 

 usual, due to poor soil conditions of one replication. 



In addition to the regular grain corn trials, 13 hybrids were grown in 

 single rows for comparative observation. Some of these seed varieties show 

 promise and will be repeated. 



L. J. HiGGINS 



