The 2020 results from the annual Pioneer Accurate Crop Testing System (PACTS) trials show Pioneer’s newest hybrid, P7948, offers farmers impressive yields for both livestock forage and biogas production.
For farmers looking for the best hybrid for favourable sites to suit their ground and weather conditions this year, P7948 ticks some important boxes.
A high yield and an ability to harvest early enough to avoid the vagaries of autumnal weather are often on the list but also conflict. An early harvest can prevent the crop yielding highly enough.
P7948 gives exceptional yields for its maturity. Over three years and across 18 trial sites, P7948’s dry matter yield was 12.8% above the control on favourable sites.
Over the same three-year period, it was also grown under film across 11 sites where conditions were less favourable for maize.
A high silage yield was seen here too, with a dry matter (DM) content higher than the high DM control.
Other trial results
Other results in this year’s PACTS trials show the ongoing success of Pioneer’s earliest maturing varieties, P7326 and P7034.
P7326 is attractive to farmers wanting good, early yields of high-quality silage, reaching 30% DM quickly.
Fast out of the ground, it is very reliable and can be grown in almost all conditions, including colder locations.
It’s a safer option for farmers, particularly in marginal maize-growing areas, and remains Pioneer’s biggest-selling variety.
P7034 is for farmers willing and able to back a variety offering benefits more commonly associated with maize grown in warmer conditions.
P7034 is a dent-type variety, producing starch easier for rumen bacteria to degrade, making energy more available to livestock.
Previously, dent varieties haven’t been bred for the cold climate of the UK.
To overcome this, P7034 has been bred specifically for cool, maritime conditions and continues to do well across the PACTS trial sites in all but the very coldest areas of the UK and Ireland.
