An overview of the Ohio Corn Performance Test: Trends over 50 years

The Ohio Corn Performance Test (OCPT) aims to provide farmers, educators, agronomists, and seed companies with information to help growers make decisions regarding hybrid selection and increase overall crop productivity. For more than 50 years, the OCPT has evaluated the agronomic performance of commercially available corn hybrids across the state. The objective of this study was to highlight overall trends as they relate to crop management, agronomic performance, and grain yields. The program has been planted annually at about 10 distinct sites grouped in three regions: Southwest/West Central Region, Northwest Region, and North Central/Northeast Region. Data collection and measurements include crop emergence percentages, lodging ratings, grain moisture, volumetric grain weight, and grain yields. Over the last 50 years, more than 53,000 hybrid combinations (i.e., hybrids × environments × years) were tested in the OCPT. From 1972 to 2021, seeding rates increased from 68,259 to 89,239 seeds ha⁻¹, seedling emergence increased from 86.2% to 94.9%, and final plant stands increased from 58,559 to 84,649 plants ha⁻¹. From these trends, the number of days from planting to harvest decreased by 11.5 days (slightly later planting dates, variable harvest dates), grain moisture at harvest decreased by 48 g kg⁻¹, and average volumetric grain weight increased by 83 kg m⁻³. The same period had a grain yield gain of 0.135 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, with 9.09 Mg ha⁻¹ in 1972 and 16.97 Mg ha⁻¹ in 2021 (an 87% increase). Overall, the annual OCPT results show agronomic and yield improvements that have contributed to the selection of hybrids in the state of Ohio.