Photo: Block 'O' Hybrid Cornfield in West Columbus

By D.J. Byrnes on July 28, 2015 at 10:34 am
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Ohio State's football team is the best in the nation, but The Ohio State University rolls a lot deeper than that.

The cornfield pictured above is just south of I-70 on "Field 5," which is located on Ohio State's Agricultural Center two miles north of London, Ohio. The site also home to the Farm Science Review, which will be held September 22-24.

According to FarmersHotLine.com, the cornfield was planted with "two hybrids of different maturity dates and tassel colors." The picture above, taken July 23, doesn't yet show the plants' tassels. 

The project's purpose is to showcase new technology that allows farmers to gain maximum yields by planting of two different hybrids in the same field.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? I have no idea. Let's bring in a professional:

“In general, farmers have always managed their acreage on a per-field basis, depending on their soil characteristics and other production factors,” said John Fulton, precision agriculture specialist for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

“Now, 2015 is the first year technology is commercially available to farmers that allows the planting of two different hybrids in the same field.”

[...]

“With this new precision technology, we can match more productive ground with a racehorse, or offensive type of hybrid, which would maximize yields in a year with good weather and the proper management. On other areas of the field, you might want to place a more risk-averse, or defensive, hybrid that would still produce favorable yields even during adverse growing seasons.”

You know who else is into maximum yields? OSU's strength coach, Mickey Marotti. (Makes you think, for sure.)

While it's still in the early stages, the plan is to continue evaluation in attempt to gain "further insight and production data to report back to farmers." 

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