Production of rainfed summer crops like maize (Zea mays L.) must adapt to a changing climate and retain high productivity. Using diverse hybrids in the same stand is a simple way to adapt to unpredictable stresses during the growing season. However, some hybrids are available at a price premium and therefore their use needs to be cleverly incorporated in the system to balance cost and economic return. In a two-year study in Pennsylvania, we evaluated maize yield and economic return in response to combinations of two planting densities (4.6 and 8.9 plants m^-2), two planting arrangements (rows with the same density or alternating rows of low and high density with medium overall density), and two hybrids (drought tolerant Aquamax and a non-drought tolerant Seedway hybrids), including mixtures of both density and hybrid. Both experimental years received adequate rainfall for production. Regression showed that increasing plant density by 1 plant m^-2 increased biomass and grain yield by 2% in the density range tested. Using the Aquamax hybrid increased grain yield by 6% compared with Seedway in one of two years. However, economic analysis indicated lower returns when using the higher planting density. Using low density, or a medium density by alternating low and high-density rows, optimized economic output and yield. In 2019, mixing hybrids suppressed yield by reducing the number kernels per ear by 9% compared to pure hybrid stands, mostly for the Aquamax hybrid, which suggests that combining compatible hybrids is of primary importance in mixtures. In rotations highly dependent on maize yield, a combination of defensive agronomic tactics that keeps costs low and yield slightly below the attainable yield as proposed here may result in a resilient and profitable agricultural system adapted to a variable climate.

像玉米 ( Zea mays L.)这样的雨养夏季作物的生产必须适应不断变化的气候并保持高生产力。在同一个林分中使用不同的杂交品种是适应生长季节不可预测的压力的一种简单方法。然而，一些混合动力车的价格溢价，因此它们的使用需要巧妙地整合到系统中，以平衡成本和经济回报。在宾夕法尼亚州进行的一项为期两年的研究中，我们评估了玉米产量和经济回报，以响应两种种植密度（4.6 和 8.9 株 m ^-2)，两种种植安排（具有相同密度的行或低密度和高密度交替行，总密度中等），以及两种杂交种（耐旱 Aquamax 和不耐旱 Seedway 杂交种），包括密度和杂交的混合物。两个试验年都获得了充足的降雨来生产。回归结果表明，每株植物密度增加1株m ^-2在测试的密度范围内，生物量和谷物产量增加了 2%。与 Seedway 相比，使用 Aquamax 杂交种在两年内增加了 6% 的谷物产量。然而，经济分析表明，使用较高种植密度时回报较低。通过交替使用低密度和高密度行来使用低密度或中等密度，优化经济产出和产量。2019 年，与纯杂种相比，混合杂种通过将每穗的籽粒数量减少 9% 来抑制产量，主要用于 Aquamax 杂种，这表明混合相容的杂种在混合物中至关重要。在高度依赖玉米产量的轮作中，