“Farmers have to balance the advantage (yield) of planting early with the risks,” said Emerson Nafziger, an emeritus professor of crop production at the University of Illinois. Frost damage and extreme cold to corn are two examples. However, he said seed companies have adapted breeding programs to offer more seed options to better handle early-season environments, which can include large temperature swings and heavy rains.
“You can’t sell seed without expecting people to plant early,” Nafziger said.
SOY CONSIDERATIONS
Most soybeans planted in the Midwest are indeterminate varieties. In the south, determinate and indeterminate varieties are planted. However, many southern acres have shifted to indeterminate varieties.
The start of reproductive growth results in the completion of vegetative growth in certain varieties, according to information provided by North Carolina State University. Indeterminate varieties begin flowering several weeks before completing vegetative growth.
Most soybeans planted in the US are indeterminate varieties sensitive to photoperiod. By planting as early as possible, soybean plants absorb more sunlight. This promotes vegetative growth and flowering during the reproductive period. More flowers equal more nodes, which means more pods and beans.
THREE TIPS FOR CHOOSING SOY
Here are three tips for selecting soybean varieties when planting early:
1. Corey Prosser, LG Seeds sales agronomist in Ohio, said choosing high-yielding varieties that emerge and grow quickly is best if planted early. Cooler soils early in the planting season can delay emergence.
LG Seeds rates soybeans for emergence and early vigor on a scale of one to nine, with nine being the best. Prosser recommends farmers select varieties at the highest grade if planting early. That’s even more important in early-planted, no-till fields and cover-crop acres, which tend to be cooler earlier in the season than tilled fields, he said.
“You want the soybeans to come out quickly,” Prosser explained. “However, just because one variety emerges quickly doesn’t mean it grows quickly. You want both.”
2. Choose the longest season varieties suitable for the climate and the farm. Hans Kandel, North Dakota State University (NDSU) soybean specialist and agronomist, said planting early — typically the first 10 days of May in North Dakota — allows farmers to plant a slightly higher maturity set. . He said NDSU studies show for every 10-point increase in the maturity band, yields rise an average of 0.7 bpa.
“By pushing that maturity, you can gain yield,” Kandel said. “In our case, I’m talking about going from a 0.5 to a 0.7 maturity group. It depends on where you are in the state or country, and farmers still have to watch out for the first fall frost date.”
3. Protect the seed and seedlings. Most soybeans are treated that are put into the ground today. For early planted acres, agronomists recommend that seed treatments include fungicides that protect against early season diseases such as Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium root rot and sudden death syndrome.
THREE TIPS FOR CHOOSING CORN
Planting corn early can lead to early canopy development for improved photosynthetic efficiency and earlier pollination. An early start to grain filling can mean less heat and water stress in the midsummer corn crop. Less plant stress ultimately increases yields.
Here are three tips for selecting corn seeds for early planting:
1. Essick recommends selecting hybrids best suited to specific geographies with high stress yield results. Pioneer’s rating is one out of nine, with nine being the highest. Essick doesn’t recommend going below six or seven for early-planted corn.
“It (corn seed) will potentially have to tolerate some cool, wet conditions,” he continues.
In no-till, high-residue fields, Essick encourages farmers to also choose hybrids with high-residue suitability ratings.
2. Prosser said early planting allows farmers to select full-season hybrids. “I have farmers who may have picked 112-day corn in the past, but early planting allows them to harvest 114-116-day corn,” he added, which usually means higher yields.
3. Pythium is a concern for early-planted corn, Essick said. Seed treatments are critical to protect against that disease and others. No-till fields with more residue can also lead to more foliar diseases.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
— Learn about Iowa State University planting extension date considerations at https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/…
To see other stories in this Seed Selection Decisions series, see:
Six tips for working with seed dealers at https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Seed Selection Decisions – 1 at https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Matthew Wilde can be reached at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter @progressivwilde
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