What’s Coming in Short Corn and Other New Seed Technologies

One of the great things about being in the agriculture industry is that things are constantly changing. That not only keeps things interesting but also presents opportunities to level up your operation. Take short corn, for example. It’s been getting a lot of buzz and for good reason. Let’s dive into how this seed technology (and others) could impact your operation in upcoming seasons.

What is Short Corn?

As the name implies, short corn has been bred to have a reduced stature compared to the traditional hybrids you’re familiar with. Using either conventional breeding or genetically modified traits, the distance between plant nodes is shortened, resulting in shorter plants that stand just a few feet tall. Short corn is an exciting new technology for corn growers because it offers more management flexibility than traditional hybrids. 

One of the most significant advantages of short corn is that it enables field accessibility throughout the growing season. Traditional corn hybrids can become challenging to manage with ground equipment for crop protection and fertilizer applications later in the season. Short corn adds more management flexibility, enabling timely applications of fungicides and fertilizers without the typical plant height constraints of taller hybrids.

As you can imagine, crop standability is significantly improved with a shorter plant stature. Short corn’s reduced height means it is less susceptible to green snap and stalk lodging, reducing the risk of crop loss due to extreme weather events. Additionally, it offers improved agronomics on fertile soils where increases in plant height can be a concern.

With more capabilities to split apply nitrogen with a ground rig, fertilizer efficiency should improve with short corn. That could mean a higher ROI on your fertilizer investment and less risk of environmental loss. 

With more in-season management flexibility and a reduced risk of crop loss, short corn presents the potential for increased yields. The key to increased yield potential with short corn is the ability of the corn plant to put on a consistent ear at higher populations. 

Is Short Corn a Good Fit for Your Farm?

As with every seed product, short corn has its advantages and limitations. From our perspective, short corn may be a good fit if you:

• Struggle with green snap or stalk lodging issues that lead to significant yield loss.
• Have high-management fields and want more flexibility for late-season fertility applications.
• Want to push yield potential by raising planting populations with less agronomic risk.
• Have moderate to high-yield acres and reasonably flat fields.

We recommend discussing short corn with your CROPLAN retailer to learn more and determine whether it’s a good fit for your acres. 

CROPLAN® Seed Supports Short Corn Commercialization

As with any new technology, there is a lot to learn about implementing short corn on the farm. We’re excited by this new technology and are fully supporting its launch by collaborating with Bayer to research the best management practices for short corn. The current trials focus on optimizing nitrogen application timing and population management. Our work with Bayer will help ensure that when short corn hybrids hit the market, you’ll have all the information you need to produce a successful crop. While we don’t have a specific timeline for when CROPLAN short corn will launch, your local retailer can provide updates as we near commercialization. 

Corn Rootworm Traits to Consider

While short corn may still be a few years from commercialization, the latest corn rootworm traits are available to help you boost yield potential next season. We’re excited to expand the CROPLAN corn hybrid offerings with the SmartStax® PRO with RNAi Technology and VT4Pro™ with RNAi Technology traits in 2025.

SmartStax PRO is a best-in-class corn rootworm trait for non-rotational corn acres or fields with a history of heavy corn rootworm pressure. It offers three modes of action against corn rootworm, including the latest RNAi technology. RNAi works differently than other soil-applied or traited Bt traits, offering another line of defense against the pest and a valuable resistance management tool. SmartStax PRO also helps protect against above-ground pests, including European corn borers, southwestern corn borers, fall armyworms, black cutworms and corn earworms.

VT4Pro is a relatively new trait that is a good fit on acres with moderate corn rootworm pressure. It offers two modes of action, including RNAi, against corn rootworm and three modes of action against above-ground pests. We’ve seen widespread success with this trait over the past two seasons and are excited to add four new VT4Pro hybrids to the CROPLAN lineup for the 2025 planting season.   

Stay Informed With CROPLAN

Introducing technologies like short corn and seed traits helps enable more resilient and efficient farms. Your CROPLAN retailer can keep you informed about new seed technologies for the upcoming season and offer research and product availability updates as you consider integrating these technologies into your operation.