BtTrial00

Bt and Non-Bt Corn Hybrid Evaluation in Northeast Kansas

S.A. Staggenborg and L.D. Maddux

Kansas State University

Summary

Twenty corn hybrids (ten Bt and ten non-Bt) were evaluated for grain yields and test weights during 2000 at the Cornbelt Experiment Field in Northeast Kansas. Grain yields for the non-Bt hybrids were 92 bu/acre whereas grain yields for the Bt hybrids were 103 bu/acre. Overall, there was not difference between the Bt and conventional yields when tested as two entire groups. There were however, two individual instances where the Bt hybrid produced yields that were greater than its non-Bt counterpart..

Procedures

Corn plots were established at the Cornbelt Experiment Field near Powhattan, KS on April 21, 2000. Four corn hybrids from five companies (Dekalb, Garst, Novartis, Pfisters and Pioneer) were utilized. Each company was instructed to enter two Bt hybrids and two conventional hybrids adapted to the area. Hybrids included by each company included in the trial are listed in Table 1.

Grain weight, test weight and moisture were determined using a plot combine on September 12, 2000. Grain yields were adjusted to 15.5% moisture.

Results

Soil moisture at planting time was available in the upper 1 ft, but subsoil moisture was at record lows due to a dry winter and spring. Rainfall amounts during June were near normal with July and August being below average rainfall and above average temperatures. These growing conditions reduced overall plot yields to 93 bu/acre.

Growing conditions resulted in few differences in grain yields among the twenty hybrids. Overall, the Bt hybrids averaged 103 bu/acre (58.7 lb/bushel test weight) and the non-Bt hybrids averaged 92 bu/acre (58.4 lb/bushel test weight). Only two Bt-Conventional pairs resulted in yields that were different, Garst ‘8363 Bt and Garst ‘8341’ and Novartis ‘67T4’ and Novartis ‘67H6’.

Test weights followed the same pattern as grain yields, in that only one Bt-Conventional pair had test weight that were different, Garst ‘8363 Bt and Garst ‘8341’.

Table 1. Bt and Conventional Corn Performance at Cornbelt Experiment Field (Brown Co., KS) in 2000.

Trt No	Company	Hybrid	Yield	Test Wt	Bt Event
1	Garst	8342 GLS, IT, Bt	87.2	61.1	Mon810
2	Garst	8342 GLS, IT	87.1	60.2	None
3	Garst	8363 BT	101.2	62.5	Mon810
4	Garst	8341	86.9	59.3	None
5	Novartis	79L3	95.5	62.9	Bt11
6	Novartis	79L4	96.1	64.4	None
7	Novartis	67T4	109.5	58.2	Bt11
8	Novartis	67H6	94.6	60.7	None
9	Pioneer	33G27	88.2	61.1	Mon810
10	Pioneer	33G26	87.7	60.4	None
11	Pioneer	31A13	105.4	63.4	Mon810
12	Pioneer	31A12	103.2	61.9	None
13	Dekalb	DK 647BTY	83.3	59.9	Mon810
14	Dekalb	DK 647	91.0	59.2	None
15	Dekalb	DK 595BTY	92.0	58.9	Mon810
16	Dekalb	DK 595	85.9	58.8	None
17	Pfister	3977Bt	91.1	60.6	Mon810
18	Pfister	3977	95.6	61.1	None
19	Pfister	2655Bt	89.9	62.3	Mon810
20	Pfister	2655	89.6	60.7	None
	LSD _(0.05)		13.7	2.3
	C.V. (%)		10.4	2.7
			102.5	61.1	Bt
			92.3	60.7	None

			102.5	60.6	Bt11
			92.3	61.3	Mon810
			91.8	60.7	None

To compare the conventional and Bt hybrids directly as the two groups, an orthogonal contrast was used.

Contrast Prob > F

Bt vs Conventional Contrast 0.3448 (ns)