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Drought-Tolerant Corn Passes 20% of All Corn Acreage Planted

By Pam Knox
 
AgWeb posted an interesting story this week about the increase in the use of drought-tolerant hybrids of corn in recent years. The first seeds with drought tolerance were made available in 2011 and the percent of corn acreage planted with the new hybrids has grown to over 20% since then. I expect to see this used more and more in areas that are susceptible to drought. In the Southeast, the growing seasons that are most likely to see a drought are in the summers following a La Niña winter. So Southeastern farmers that are concerned about their corn surviving a dry summer should consider using these hybrids in years when drought is more likely.
 
That is not likely to be a problem in 2019 with the wet El Niño-like conditions we are experiencing this winter, and in fact wet soils may delay planting this year in areas that have received the most rain, but a year or two down the road might be a different story. You can read the article here.
 
 

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