Selecting the right maize hybrid

This time of year is a good time to sit down with your local merchant, contractor or Pioneer Area Manager and start planning your hybrid selection for the coming season. The right maize hybrid, carefully matched to your growing environment, can make a significant difference to yield and profitability.

Ongoing breeding and crop management advances continue to drive steady gains, with maize silage yields increasing by as much as 250 kgDM per hectare each year. That’s why many newly released Pioneer hybrids often deliver noticeable yield advantages compared to older options.

When selecting a hybrid, maturity is one of the first things to consider. Different hybrids mature at different rates depending on their Comparative Relative Maturity (CRM). Lower CRM hybrids require less radiation and reach harvest earlier, while higher CRM hybrids take longer to mature. The Pioneer 2025-26 silage catalogue offers CRM ratings and estimated days to harvest by district, providing a helpful planning tool, particularly when aligning planting with pasture renovation or autumn crop rotations.

Maximising drymatter yield remains central to hybrid selection. Once maturity and agronomic fit are assessed, it’s worth narrowing your options to two or three hybrids that consistently deliver top-end yield performance.

Seed quality is another important factor that can significantly influence crop establishment. Seed vigour – the ability of the seed to germinate and grow under varying conditions – depends on both genetics and post-harvest handling processes such as drying, storage, and shipping. We outline the steps we take to ensure seed quality and how you can look after your maize seed in our 2025-26 silage catalogue on pages 28-33.

Planning your hybrid selection early allows you to build on your observations from last season, which are still fresh in your mind, to review what worked and what didn’t and make confident decisions for the year ahead. Before calving is an ideal time to sit down with your local merchant, contractor or Pioneer Area Manager to discuss options for the upcoming season.