By Brian Hefty
10 years ago, I had a really tough time investing in soybean seed treatments. The price of soybeans was low. Our yields weren’t too great. The inoculants were a little questionable. The insecticides seemed expensive. And the fungicides were the same old ones that were mediocre at best.
The reason most farmers use soybean seed treatments today is all the factors I listed above have changed dramatically for the better. When we plant soybeans on our farm we use 4 different types, all at the same time, because we have good yield gains. Some years the gains are better than others, but on average this is a practice that is paying off well. Here is what we suggest you consider for your farm.
INOCULANT: Some people still quote old, obsolete data when they tell you not to use inoculants in a corn-soybean rotation or when planting continuous soybeans. Back 10 to 20 years ago, most of the inoculants on the market contained rhizobia bacteria, but what kind? Almost no one knew. Today, the strains have been isolated, with the most efficient ones put in the inoculants that are top sellers. We prefer ROOTastic, but there are many great products out there. For a $2 investment, you often gain a half bushel or more PLUS you leave more nitrogen in your field for next year’s crop.
FUNGICIDE(S): Almost every fungicide package on the market contains 2 or 3 active ingredients. Most have Apron or Allegiance for pythium. Phytophthora and rhizoctonia are handled primarily by the other products. Each company has their own. Many of the active ingredients in the seed treatments are also found in popular post-emerge fungicides including Headline and Xemium (found in Priaxor). There are so many relatively new products that have much better efficacy, that the possibilities are exciting. It is also why we have seen better yield results in the last few years. Plus, since many companies have competing products, that helps keep the fungicide prices down. Your question is probably, “Which company has the best products?” It varies depending on the diseases that actually show up in your fields, but understand that almost every company has a great – and I mean great offering – so I don’t think you can lose no matter what you pick.
INSECTICIDE: There is only one family, and it contains Poncho, Gaucho and Cruiser. These products are systemic, long-lasting, great on a wide variety of insects, inexpensive and quite safe for the environment and human beings (they are in the same chemical family as nicotine). Bugs don’t always show up; but when they do, it is nice to have your seed and seedlings protected. Imagine planting corn with no insecticide seed treatment. You wouldn’t want to do it, especially with the cost of seed today. Why would you take that risk with soybeans?
NATURAL: We have been talking about “biological” and “plant growth hormone” products for the last few years, but those terms are scary. I think “natural” sounds a lot better, and that’s what these products are: natural. These are already found in nature, so when they are reproduced and used at higher rates in crops, they often produce good yield results when used correctly. We’ve been using QuickRoots (a blend of natural bacteria and fungi) on our seed for years, but almost every big company is now investing billions of dollars into R & D in this segment. You will find more and better products coming in the near future. For today, we are getting a good ROI with a handful of natural products, so we encourage you to at least try some.