Hey guys, Evan with EZ Custom Ag here. If you’ve been following along in our last videos, you’ll know we’re talking about AgriGold’s Field GX system, which is how they categorize their hybrids into families based on characteristics and how they react out in the field.
Today we’re going to be talking about Family A. One of my favorite Family A hybrids is 65 -44. That’s one we’ve used here on our farm for a long time. It’s actually going to be retired this year I believe, but I’ll talk with some first -hand experience about what we’ve seen with that hybrid, and how it reacts out in the field, and how most of the other Family A’s will react out in the field.
So, when we look at flex, it flexes in both length and girth. Not too much of a kernel flex. You’re going to see smaller kernels on this hybrid, but it’s not unusual to see 20 or 22 around and 40 to 50 long.
I know with 65 -44 it’ll always grow about 55 long, and put a short nose on the top, no matter what you do. But, if you’re holding 45 kernels that are 20 around, that’s not a problem. Makes a huge ear and like I said, has very good flex.
So, when we look at grain fill, I think that’s something very interesting that not many companies look at. These Family A’s have a medium grain fill time, so it doesn’t have to have rain all the way to the end, but also we have to be a little bit nervous if the rain’s cutting off the end of July and we’re hoping to fill those kernels all the way through August. So, kind of an in -between one, but still very important to look at.
Test weight is phenomenal on these products, 57 to 59 pounds. Definitely above average. Great test weight and grain quality with the Family A’s.
One thing about Family A’s is they have to go on your best acre. They’re kind of princesses in their own way. They love high potassium. They want their nitrogen early, which we’ll talk about here in just a second. They like good soil, but they can also have great wet feet tolerance, which most of our heavy black soils here are in those lower lying areas, so they’re going to hold water a little bit more, which is perfect placement for these Family A’s.
The 65 -44 that we plant always goes on our creek bottom ground. Just amazing placement for that. It’s got all the nutrients it needs. It’s getting moisture constantly and can really crank some yields out of those creek bottoms.
So, basically Family A’s, you’ve got a lot of flex. They need to go on really good acres and they will perform very well for you if you give them some pretty high management. They have a very healthy plant, so fungicide isn’t always a must, but fungicide is always encouraged, especially when you’re going on acres that might be creek bottom, any of those lower places where fog might lay, disease can run prevalent. But, this is one of our families that is much healthier and is not as big of a watch out for disease in the field.
So, this is our first family we’re going over. Be sure to stay tuned for our other videos on the other families and we’ll see you next time in front of the whiteboard.