If you want silage yield that holds up through tough seasons, you need hybrids built for both performance and consistency. Pioneer’s hybrids P8500, P92575 and P9978 bring the latest genetics into southern dairying maize silage, offering proven high yield stability and excellent plant traits.
Why these three matter this season:
P8500 (85 CRM) – Your go-to for strong dryland performance. Tall, robust, with excellent root & stalk strength. Holds feed value late thanks to staygreen. Dependable drought tolerance make P8500 hybrid that stands up in a range of summer conditions.
P92575 (92 CRM) – Slightly longer season, very good late season ‘staygreen’. Excellent for growers wanting wider harvest windows, strong standability, and consistent silage energy as
P9978 (99 CRM) – Best when you have the moisture and want max tonnage. A strong pick for irrigation zones (think Macalistair, Cora Lynn, Northern Victoria), with stable performance under varied conditions. If you’re not concerned about winter pasture performance, this could be an option for extending maize growth.
Knowing what’s going on
We’ve seen these in Pioneer’s STRIKE trials, in Gippsland and Western Vic, and in our Notman-run demo blocks. For example, at Purnim sown on the 28/10/24 and harvested 17/03/25, P8500 led the trial with 20.94tDM/ha, 37.4% DM, 39.4 NDF, 33.1% Starch and 11.6 ME.
Which hybrid fits you best?
| Your Situation | Best Pick |
|---|---|
| Dryland, reliablity, strong plant | P8500 |
| Slightly longer growing season, want more flexibility at harvest | P92575 |
| Full season, irrigation, high silage tonnage goal | P9978 |
Pioneer Seeds breeding
Pioneer’s breeding program draws on one of the strongest germplasm libraries in the world, and every hybrid is run through the Australian STRIKE trial network before it ever reaches your paddock. On top of that, we see them tested each year in southern Victorian trial sites, as well as in our own Notman demonstration sites, such as at Purnim. All of these local sites give us a close, season-long look at how these hybrids establish, grow and how their traits interact with an often hardsh
What’s best?
There’s always plenty of talk in maize circles about what’s “the best.” We’ve seen plenty of maize varieties in the paddock and in trials, and a key part of our hybrid selection is farmer feedback and it must be shown to perform in local conditions. These three varieties certainly perform very well.
Get in touch
Seed will be coming in stock in October, so get in touch with our team and and we can work through the best variety maturity for your system
Peter Notman 0418 512 035
Adam Fisher 0437 512 015
Andrew Allsop 0408 439 795
Jonathan Town 0409 118 663
Head Office (03) 5659 2314
