The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) said that the results booklet, which has been formatted along the same lines as FAR’s well known CPT booklet, will arrive in growers’ mailboxes this week. The booklet presents the results taken from the three specially designed trial sites established in spring of 2014. These were in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Canterbury.

MPT Project Manager, Allister Holmes, said FAR maize growers have been requesting an independent maize hybrid testing scheme for a number of years, with the aim of obtaining objective research results rather than marketing information. “We can see that the results of these trials will provide growers with valuable insight into the various maize hybrids and how to maximise industry efficiency and profitability. The development of the trials are a constructive investment for the industry collectively."

In June of this year, the Maize Technical Committee of New Zealand Plant Breeders Association met to review the first season of trials, and in the early stages was able to see some difference between maize hybrids.

The final results should provide growers with similar information to that of the well-established cereals performance trials (CPT). The project’s aim is to deliver objective measurement of the agronomic and quality performance of commercial maize hybrids available to the New Zealand Arable Industry.

Additional New Zealand maize grain and silage growing regions will be brought into the scheme as experience is gained with the trialling procedures.

The MPT programme has been carried out with support from PGGW, the NZPBRA and Pacific Seeds and analyses of the trial results have been carried out by an independent statistician.

MPT trials are to be planted again in spring 2015, and will include hybrids from Corson Maize Seed and Pacific Seed.