Using Data for Better Seed Selection

Nov 12, 2020

By Sara Bauder

As harvest wraps up across the region, winter preparation and planning for next year begins. Each year it seems like seed selection is pushed up earlier and earlier by discounts and incentives from seed companies. Trying to choose the right variety to plant can be difficult and overwhelming, but keep in mind there are a few key characteristics to look for.

Yield trial results are a key component when making sound seed selection decisions. The SDSU Crop Performance Testing program releases new crop performance results each year, as do surrounding state land grant institutions. Universities publish yield data from multiple companies; trials are replicated, randomized, and set up as unbiased as possible. Aside from university data, local elevators, seed dealers, and other ag businesses often plant test plots as well. This type of local data can be useful but remember that it may not be replicated or may only contain seed lines from a single company. Visit the SDSU Extension Crop Performance Testing page to view current and past crop performance results.

Selection Considerations

When thinking about corn hybrids or soybean varieties in particular, there are several factors to weigh.

YIELD DATA

High-yielding cultivars are typically priority number one for producers; however, there are many factors that should be considered when sifting through yield data. Corn or soybean cultivars should be carefully evaluated for consistent performance in multiple locations and/or locations with a similar growing environment to the field seed is being selected for. Performance over years is also a very important consideration. Environmental conditions in any given season may favor one variety over another.

PLANT DISEASE TOLERANCE

Know field history and plan accordingly for disease tolerance. If a particular pest is an issue, consider making field management changes and look for cultivars that are tolerant or resistant to the disease. In many cases, tolerance or resistance is one of the best ways to control a pest (ie: Soybean Cyst Nematode, Phytophthora, Goss’s Wilt, etc.) and can eliminate extra fungicide spray passes.

EMERGENCE AND VIGOR

Excellent emergence and plant vigor are an integral part of achieving intended plant population. Many modern cultivars offer emergence and plant vigor ratings. Vigor ratings can be especially helpful as a risk management tool when choosing corn and soybean lines long before planting occurs. High vigor and emergence ratings help to minimize the risk of losing yield due to plant stress from plant pests and weather events. Excellent plant emergence is very important, considering the cost of seed.

GREEN SNAP

In corn fields, depending upon growth stage and position in the landscape, green snap is a concern when wind storms arise. If green snap is a common problem in a given area or wind storms are frequent, green snap ratings should be an important consideration.

SEED COST

Seed costs seem to climb higher each year with the release of new and emerging technologies aiming to improve yields. Early adoption seed discounts can be very tempting, but remember that choosing the right seed is almost always more important in determining final yield than other inputs used during the growing season. Waiting for appropriate yield data and/or getting a better look at the growing season weather may make it worth losing some discount dollars to ensure the best seed selection possible.

CROP MATURITY

Weather is tough to predict, but most growers know what maturities work best in their local environment on a ‘typical’ year. It is important to choose maturities that are appropriate for a farms growing environment. That being said, some years may favor early-maturing cultivars while others may favor later-maturing cultivars so it is good to hedge one’s bets by planting multiple hybrid or variety maturities in an appropriate range.

STACKED TRAITS

Many modern hybrids and varieties offer transgenic (stacked) traits that protect crops from herbicides and insects. Although these options can simplify management, often times producers do not need all of the traits offered in a transgenic package. If resistance to particular herbicides or insecticides has developed, take special care when selecting cultivars with transgenic technology.

LODGING

In areas where soil moisture is often high and/or late harvests often occur, corn lodging or standability (breakage below the ear) ratings are an important consideration. Many environmental factors can affect corn hybrid standability, but good lodging ratings can serve as an increased level of insurance when planning for next year. Keep in mind that higher plant populations (above 33,000 plants/acre) often cause an increase in lodging potential.

DRYDOWN

Corn drydown ratings are helpful to predict an approximate ideal harvest. Avoiding drying fees or dockage at grain outlets is important to many growers and reduces input costs. If a farm has minimal or no grain drying capabilities, in-field drydown should be taken into special consideration. Knowing the drydown rating of a corn hybrid can also aid in choosing the proper grain maturity.

In Summary

Selecting a corn hybrid or soybean variety can be an overwhelming decision, but taking time to choose the best option is of great importance. Look at university and private data at a wide range of locations. Lines that consistently perform well across many different climates and environmental conditions are likely to perform well next year.

Source : sdstate.edu

Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

In a world of PowerPoint overload, Rex Bernardo stands out. No bullet points. No charts. No jargon. Just stories and photographs. At this year’s National Association for Plant Breeding conference on the Big Island of Hawaii, he stood before a room of peers — all experts in the science of seeds — and did something radical: he showed them images. He told them stories. And he asked them to remember not what they saw, but how they felt.

Bernardo, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent his career searching for the genetic treasures tucked inside what plant breeders call exotic germplasm — ancient, often wild genetic lines that hold secrets to resilience, taste, and traits we've forgotten to value.

But Bernardo didn’t always think this way.

“I worked in private industry for nearly a decade,” he recalls. “I remember one breeder saying, ‘We’re making new hybrids, but they’re basically the same genetics.’ That stuck with me. Where is the new diversity going to come from?”

For Bernardo, part of the answer lies in the world’s gene banks — vast vaults of seed samples collected from every corner of the globe. Yet, he says, many of these vaults have quietly become “seed morgues.” “Something goes in, but it never comes out,” he explains. “We need to start treating these collections like living investments, not museums of dead potential.”

That potential — and the barriers to unlocking it — are deeply personal for Bernardo. He’s wrestled with international policies that prevent access to valuable lines (like North Korean corn) and with the slow, painstaking science of transferring useful traits from wild relatives into elite lines that farmers can actually grow. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But he’s convinced that success starts not in the lab, but in the way we communicate.

“The fact sheet model isn’t cutting it anymore,” he says. “We hand out a paper about a new variety and think that’s enough. But stories? Plants you can see and touch? That’s what stays with people.”

Bernardo practices what he preaches. At the University of Minnesota, he helped launch a student-led breeding program that’s working to adapt leafy African vegetables for the Twin Cities’ African diaspora. The goal? Culturally relevant crops that mature in Minnesota’s shorter growing season — and can be regrown year after year.

“That’s real impact,” he says. “Helping people grow food that’s meaningful to them, not just what's commercially viable.”

He’s also brewed plant breeding into something more relatable — literally. Coffee and beer have become unexpected tools in his mission to make science accessible. His undergraduate course on coffee, for instance, connects the dots between genetics, geography, and culture. “Everyone drinks coffee,” he says. “It’s a conversation starter. It’s a gateway into plant science.”