DuPont Pioneer today announced its 2015 sorghum hybrid product offerings, including the addition of three new hybrids.

These hybrids offer sorghum growers strong yield potential, improved agronomic performance, a wide range of defensive trait packages and adaptability to both irrigated and dryland acres. The new hybrids for the coming season include:

• Pioneer hybrid 83P56 – a medium full-grain sorghum hybrid available in south and central Texas. The product provides improved standability with excellent root and stalk strength, in addition to above-average head exertion and a defensive trait package that fights pests such as downy mildew and sugarcane aphid.
• Pioneer hybrid 83P73 – a new grain sorghum hybrid with excellent yield potential, adapted for both irrigated and dryland acres in south and central Texas. It has good defensive agronomic traits and brings improved harvest standability into the current sorghum lineup.
• Pioneer hybrid 84P72 – provides strong yield potential and above-average stalks with acceptable root lodging resistance for its maturity, and is available in the High Plains regions of Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. This hybrid has demonstrated strong drought tolerance, above-average cold emergence and good tolerance to fusarium rot.

Growers planting Pioneer brand sorghum hybrids recently won three of seven first-place finishes and nine of the 21 national categories in the 2014 National Sorghum Producers (NSP) Yield and Management Contest. Growers using Pioneer 84G62 brand sorghum won five of the nine national titles, and 33 of 81 state titles were won using Pioneer brand sorghum hybrids.

Pioneer has invested significant resources in research to constantly improve sorghum hybrids in the United States and around the world. Current research projects include work on hybrids that are non- or low-tillering, precision phenotyping for reduction in stress-induced lodging, and disease management. The trials are conducted at the three regional sorghum research centers in Manhattan, Kan.; Plainview, Texas; and Taft, Texas. Each center is located in an environment where important disease, insect or climatic conditions can be evaluated. Globally, testing occurs in more than 100,000 yield plots at 60 locations in four countries.

“The goal of the Pioneer sorghum research program has always been to help growers increase profit by constantly improving the traits,” said Doug Pilkington, DuPont Pioneer senior marketing manager for sorghum. “We focus on what impacts growers most, like water management, stress management and overall plant health for each region, and the results of that research are reflected in these new hybrids for 2015.”

Pioneer also arms sorghum growers with additional tools to improve their crop’s performance. Pioneer has developed a sorghum production manual that covers topics ranging from hybrid selection and planting populations to fertility and pest and disease management. In addition, Pioneer is working with the United Sorghum Checkoff, researching hybrids and inbreds that address some of the biggest challenges facing sorghum growers.

“It is important to use all of the Pioneer technological skills and assets to improve sorghum traits for growers,” Pilkington said. “We know that sorghum will continue to be an important crop and Pioneer will continue to invest in developing the best products for our sorghum customers.”