Producers are often “sold” a number of different products, seed varieties, herbicides, insecticides, or growth promotion products, which are pitched as yield maximizers. The ability of these products to increase yield may be questionable, as companies do not typically utilize acceptable statistical practices and field trial design to produce repeatable conclusions. What is additionally questionable is the profitability of these products. Producers need an unbiased source to compare the performance and profitability of these products, namely seed varieties, to make decisions that maximize profitability on their operations. Moreover, it is important to evaluate seed varieties across the geographic and climatic regions of the state so producers across the state can select varieties appropriate for their specific conditions as well as all-around consistent varieties. As weather conditions continue to be unpredictable and variable, there is value in selecting corn varieties that perform well across variable conditions to minimize risk of profit loss.

Funding for these small, statewide, and applied projects is difficult to obtain. These comparisons are performed at the state level and do not often qualify for support from USDA or other federal grant programs. Although major seed companies provide entries fees to support the corn variety trials, their provision of support may lead some to question if there is bias in the results. The funding provided from commodity organizations across the country is invaluable to the performance of these unbiased product comparisons.

The goal of this project is to provide Maryland producers with an unbiased comparison of soybean variety performance across the geographic and climatic regions of Maryland. These data can aid producers in soybean variety selection with the global goal of increasing producer profitability through increased yields.

Varieties from maturity group (MG) III, IV, and V will be evaluated at four locations across the state representative of the geographic conditions in Maryland. A full-season test will be conducted at all four locations with a double-crop test at two locations on the Eastern Shore. Varieties from MG III and IV will be evaluated at all locations, while MG V will only be evaluated at the Eastern Shore locations. Each variety will be replicated three times per location. Four row plots will be established, at least 20 feet long using a row spacing of 30 inches, with similar maturity group varieties planted adjacent to one another. Seeding rate of 6-8 seeds per foot will be used when tests are planting and a rate of 3-4 seeds per foot will be used where seed is drilled. The center two rows of each plot are harvested with Almaco R1 research combine (Almaco Co., Nevada, IA). Grain yield, harvest moisture, and test weight will be measured for each plot. These data will be collected with a Seed Spector LRX system (Almaco Co., Nevada, IA) and recorded on Microsoft xTablet T1600. Harvest data, including yield, relative yield, moisture, lodging, and test weight will be reported for all varieties at all locations in a summary report to be available for download at the UMD MD Crops website (www.psla.umd.edu/extension/md-crops).

Update:
All locations of the full season and double-crop test have been planted and are being managed throughout the season. Stand at Wye REC has experienced deer damage. An electric double fence has been placed around the test to prevent further damage. We also planted a duplicate early planting date test at each full season location and look forward to observing potential differences in yields.

Update:
The University of Maryland Soybean Variety trials have been completed for the 2022 growing season. Results of the trials can be found at the MD Crops page on the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture website at https://psla.umd.edu/extension/md-crops. The Trials Center team, who performs the work, wrapped up harvest by late November this year and the report was compiled and published online by the beginning of December. This was the second year planting our trials with our refurbished no-till planter, which was modified and outfitted with a seed delivery system in 2021.

View uploaded report

Update:
The University of Maryland Soybean Variety trials have been completed for the 2022 growing season. Results of the trials can be found at the MD Crops page on the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture website at https://psla.umd.edu/extension/md-crops. The Trials Center team, who performs the work, wrapped up harvest by late November this year and the report was compiled and published online by the beginning of December. This was the second year planting our trials with our refurbished no-till planter, which was modified and outfitted with a seed delivery system in 2021.

View uploaded report