Syngenta Seeds has unveiled the 2023 Field Forged Series from NK Seeds. Rigorous testing and selection criteria, coupled with industry-leading germplasm and genetics, has culminated in a new product lineup to help corn and soybean farmers optimize every acre.

Last year, NK Seeds launched its inaugural lineup of high-performing Field Forged corn hybrids and soybean varieties, each hand-selected for top performance. Going into the second year, the company has evaluated this elite group, as well as their new corn, soybean and Enogen launch products, against key agronomic traits to ensure that only the very best, most consistent products make it to their Field Forged lineup – and farmers’ fields.

For the 2023 growing season, NK Seeds has announced 64 products that span maturity groups and trait packages, ensuring the latest best options for farmers across the Corn Belt and beyond. These include 29 NK corn hybrids, 28 NK soybean varieties and seven Enogen hybrids.

NK Corn Hybrids: Rigorously Tested for Outstanding Performance

“Each Field Forged corn hybrid has undergone stringent testing against the best products in the industry, before and after launch, to bring only the ‘best to bear,’” says Joe Bollman, NK Corn Products Marketing Manager. “Given this level of scrutiny, farmers can be confident there’s a Field Forged hybrid for their unique areas of adaptation and management practices.”

This rigorous testing is paying off — in 2021 trials, NK Field Forged products performed exceptionally well in their areas of adaptation despite a season fraught with localized Tar Spot, heavy corn rootworm pressure and damaging winds.

Hybrids are evaluated and selected based on five key parameters:

  • Strong yield performance in area of adaptation 
  • Yield consistency across multiple years of trials 
  • Strong stalks and roots 
  • Excellent disease tolerance
  • Broad adaptation

Bollman says three of NK’s most versatile corn hybrids for 2022 are NK0007, a new product notable for its excellent yield potential and strong roots and stalks; NK1188, a tried-and-true favorite known for consistent yield potential and agronomics across environments, and NK9231, which features excellent yield potential across variable and drought-prone soils. 

NK Soybean Varieties: Exclusive Genetics, Diverse Trait Portfolio

The 28 soybean varieties in NK Seed’s 2023 Field Forged portfolio offer a winning combination of exclusive genetics stacked with industry-leading traits that help soybean farmers maximize every acre.

Like their corn counterparts, each soybean variety in the 2023 Field Forged class has been hand-selected based on trial performance and agronomic attributes. Specifically, each variety was evaluated to help ensure:

  • Consistently outstanding yield performance potential
  • Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN)
  • Excellent Soybean White Mold tolerance
  • Strong Phytophthora Root Rot resistance
  • Proven Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) tolerance

“When it comes to soybean performance, the proof is really in the data,” says Eric Miller, NK Soybean Product Manager. “Last year, Field Forged products with Enlist E3® soybean trait technology yielded 0.8 bushels more than Pioneer® brand products with Enlist E3 soybean trait technology in nearly 1,800 trials, and Field Forged products with XtendFlex soybean trait technology yielded one bushel more than Asgrow brand products XtendFlex soybean trait technology in almost 4,000 comparisons. When you consider $15 per bushel soybeans, that’s a significant ROI potential for soybean farmers.”

For 2023, Miller encourages farmers to consider five varieties that have shown exceptional performance, backed by strong protection from common diseases: NK14-W6E3, for SCN protection with very good yield potential, NK37-V4E3, featuring outstanding performance protected by a great defensive package, NK20-B6E3S, a new product featuring strong Iron Deficiency Chlorosis tolerance, NK25-C9XF, offering excellent potential performance with great SDS protection and NK44-J4XF, with proven genetics that deliver top-end yield potential.

NK Seeds will highlight its Field Forged portfolio as part of its Commodity Classic experience. Farmers can also contact their local NK retailer (NKSeeds.com/Retailer) to schedule a Field Forged plot tour.