Pioneer hybrids reaping awards in RP and US

In the Philippines, a Hybrid Corn Showcase was organized in the town of Pili, Camarines Sur by the Department of Agriculture-Bicol Integrated Agricultural Research Center (DA-BIARC), along with the local government units of the municipality and province. The 1.5-hectare showcase, more known to farmers as a ‘corn derby', exhibited different varieties of hybrid corn from several seed companies with the aim to enhance Bicol farmers' adoption of the best corn production technologies available in the market.

The 3013 variety of Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines, Inc. yielded a high 11.2 metric tons per hectare, enough to place it in the top spot with a yield difference of 1.4 metric tons from the second best variety. Aside from the 3013 variety, Pioneer's 30D44 variety was also at par with high quality as it placed fourth in the standings with a computed yield of 8.7 metric tons per hectare.

Compared to other corn varieties, Pioneer 3013 is known to yield large ears and has some drought tolerance and resistance to rust. On the other hand, Pioneer 30D44 is an early maturing hybrid with long ears and resistant to pythium stalk rot. It can be harvested at 97 days, compared to the usual 120-day cycle from planting to harvesting. Both hybrids have medium tolerance to the corn borer, the most prevalent corn pest in the country.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., American growers planting Pioneer® brand corn hybrids won 23 of 27 categories in the 2002 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Yield Contest, an annual national competition in the U.S. among corn growers with the goal of producing the highest corn yields.






   
The majority of the awards in the U.S. NCGA contest were garnered by farmers growing Pioneer hybrids, finishing first-place in all nine national classes including conventional, ridge-till irrigated and irrigated classes.

Francis Childs of Iowa obtained the highest yield mark during the competition with a recorded harvest of 442.14 bushels per acre (13.6 MT/hectare) using Pioneer brand 34N44. Winning in the national non-irrigated class, Childs' entry was a Pioneer Bt corn hybrid containing the YieldGard1 gene for resistance to the European corn borer. Childs made NCGA contest history last year as the first grower to win with a yield clearing the 400-bushel-an-acre (12.3 MT/hectare) hurdle. This is the sixth consecutive year Childs has finished first in the NCGA yield contest, with Pioneer hybrids dominating most of the categories in the event for the period.

"We believe that the government through the agriculture department should support more of these corn demonstration projects in order to convince our farmers to shift from using open-pollinated varieties, which average only less than half of what hybrid corn can potentially yield," said Jet Parma, Country Manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred. "From this manner, we can lessen the importation of corn and other substitutes, which adversely affect our farmers' livelihood."

Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Iowa-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.—a DuPont company—is the country's leading producer and distributor of high-quality hybrid seed corn.

DuPont is a 200-year-old science company offering innovative products, technologies and services that improve the lives of people everywhere. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A., DuPont delivers science-based solutions to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation, apparel, home and textiles.





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