Hybrid Selection Selection of the corn or sorghum hybrid is just as important with ecofarming, if not more important, as with conventional farming. Additional factors which must be considered when selecting hybrids for ecofarming include seedling cold tolerance and maturity. The residue protects the soil surface, causing the soil to be cooler at planting time and through much of the growing season. Soils also dry more slowly in the spring, so planting may be delayed. With the cooler soil temperatures, germination and seedling development are slower in the spring.
Sorghum is delayed more than corn.
Crop producers must give as much thought to hybrid selection as any other management decision. Use of the wrong hybrid can wipe out all the potential gains from other correct decisions. Items to Consider When Selecting a Hybrid Maturity Full-season hybrids have the greatest yield potential. A mid-season hybrid at one location may be a full season at another location as length of season varies greatly across the state. Length of growing season is affected not only by the number of days from the last frost in the spring until the first frost in the fall, but also by latitude and altitude.