The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-15
TESTS or HYBRID
CORN ARE URGED
Or. Paul H. Harvey Asks
Farmers TO Use Care In
choosing New Varieties

1r,-Lri6 corn IS not ieduy lOi
>-,rrn carolina, DR.. Paul Fl. Harvey
,.,.i4 of the State college EN-
-.,,onr station, states emphatl-
'.r.. in warning farmers to beware
.-.rrhiug from standard varieties
,. or the basis of the claims OF
,,a,.r1 seed dealers. First, a
l,n,o- should test q few rows OF
t,-,,fd alongside his best local
..-s.., eor TWO or three years be
sro deserving the type of corn he
l.,o,r growing. the aGrOnomlst
advised.
.If Won are certain that the hy-
,.;.f will outyieId the best local va
,',.fe, OH your own farm for three
I,saantn,e years. then You are
,.,rartcd in switching to hybrid
ar, ahead of the rest of the state
- the SOUTH" Dr.. Harvey de-
,,rad "OtherWise, the farmer who
iarores his entire acreage to hybrid
arm is very likely to be sadly dis
appointed
mre research man, who is spend
.,u o,osr Of his time now in develop
IA. q corn hybrid adapted to North
,,ar,1;na soil and climatic conditions,
oynrained that good certified -ariety
~ corn seed can be bought for
shout zf.Ja per bushel, whereas
most Of the hybrid seed now on the
market sell fUr 81 to SIS per bushel.
,rso. he POINTED out. the farmer
AN save seed from the standard
varieties. whereas the hybrid seed
must lie replaced every year.
Only swapping Dollars
o1f the Yields of hybrid corn are
mai more than 10 per cent above
those Of the varieties, a farmer is
o9lv swapping dollars and losing the
ADVANTAGE of saving seed" Dr.. Har-
,ay declared. The State college
Experiment station will not put any
hybrid out for general distribution
until il has outyielded the standard
varieties by at least Is per cent
over ii th~ree-year period"
Explaining the Importance of tests
over three seasons, the agronomist
said that last season was an es-
p~ecjaIlv GOOD one for early varieties
of corn. and many persons were
misIed when they heard of early
producing hybrids o~utyielding late
standard varieties. Most of the n.y.
birds now on the market are early
types.
The Experiment station man sug-
3os.ed rlsc persons interested in
the hyY.ids should plant a quarter
OF. an acre or less alongside a local
variety and compare the difference
in Yield then compare the differ
clce in nice and availability of seed,
and de.iIe ON that basis whether
they Want 10 make the switch.
That IS what the state college re-
,aagca agency is doing. DR.. 1ar-
leg IS also breeding a hybrid
adarted TO North Carolina condi-
tons. and several Of his selections
SHOW enough promise to indicate
that Tar Heel hybrid will be avail
abe Tor general distribution within
about two years.
Hybrid corn has great POSSIBLE
itjoS. the plant breeding specialist
declared, as has been proven by
lie enormous increases in yields
Per acre obtained with hybrids in
The Middle West. However," he
said, The corn hybrids now avail
abe for commercial production have
chiefly Jeen developed for regions
Of shorter growing seasons than
are found in this state. Because of
'AIs. most hybrids are earlier ma
turing than our local varieties.
They mature during the warm
est part of the summer (early in
Augusta. This results in poorly de-
'e'9pcd grain, often soft an d
%>l9fchI, and loosening of hushs
winch are frequently too short. Both
Inc poor quality grain and the loose
0uShs make such corn very acces-
sigle 10 Wecvils during the late
summer. BY normal harvest time it
i not uncommon to find ears on
winch every grain has been pune
l'fed by WeeviIs.
Local adapted varieties are ap-
F.9@lhatoly equal in yield of grain ;
superior in grain quality; and more
resistant to earWorms, weevils and
o'rd damage, than are corn belt OIL
northern hybrids. North Carolina
i'."efs aro advised to continue
using these local varieties until 10,
,aly developed, proven hybrids arc
aHailable.'