Kinze® Manufacturing is reporting progress this season on the “world’s first electric multi-hybrid planter.”

According to Kinze, six multi-hybrid planters were successfully used for planting this spring on test plots in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. Based on success so far, Kinze is putting the model into limited production for the spring 2015 planting season.

Last December, Kinze first announced the concept planter, which provides farmers with the ability to change the seed hybrid they are planting automatically as the planter moves through the field.

In planting trials this spring, the planter successfully demonstrated automatic on-the-go changing of seed hybrids and population. Hybrid changes were conducted within a single seed drop, so there were virtually no gaps or overlap when switching from one hybrid to the other.

Additionally, the planter successfully demonstrated the creation and application of prescription maps controlling the seed hybrid and population. This was done in conjunction with Raven and the partnering seed companies, which created prescription maps to take advantage of their portfolio of seeds and optimize every part of the farmer’s fields.

Read more here.