Effect of Corn Hybrid Variability and Planting Location on Dry Grind Ethanol Production

Eighteen different dent corn hybrids grown at multiple locations in the Midwestern U.S. were processed using alaboratory dry grind procedure to determine the effect of hybrid variability and planting location on final ethanolconcentration in the fermentor. A selected number of hybrids were laboratory wet milled to determine the starch extractabilityand the correlation between the starch extractability and ethanol concentration. Hybrids also were analyzed for starch,protein, oil, and crude fiber content. The results showed that, overall, there was approximately 23% variability in ethanolconcentration due to hybrid and planting locations. No significant correlation was observed between ethanol concentrationand starch extractability or compositional data.