Seed Piece Do Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments Work?
New research shows negligible benefits to U.S. farmers from soybean seed treatments
New research has been published regarding neonicotinoid seed
treatments (NST). It has been revealed that this soybean treatment provides negligible benefit to U.S. farmers.
In recent years, the usage of NST has increased, and it is estimated that approximately 50 percent of U.S. soybean planted acreage is treated with this class of insecticide seed treatment. It appears that many soybean farmers have been applying NST on their soybean seeds as a preventative measure, using it as insurance or a just-in-case treatment. The latest research suggests that this
is not a best management practice (BMP) and is unnecessary in many cases. It is recommended to only use NST on fields that have a specific pest history or have shown a direct positive regional impact to the crop from the seed treatments. Shawn P. Conley, professor and extension soybean specialist in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is project leader and has been a long-
time proponent of soybean seed treatments in Wisconsin. DATA SPEAKS FOR ITSELF “I went into the project assuming this practice would have greater national effects, however the data speaks for itself,” Conley says. “There are many agronomic factors such as early planting, narrow row spacing and seeding rate that farmers can implement that would play a greater role than neonicotinoids in maximizing economic yield.” Christian Krupke, professor of entomology at Purdue University and continued on pg. 74
SNOWDEN • PIKE • ATLANTIC • LAMOKA MEGACHIP • HODAG • MANISTEE SILVERTON • NIAGARA
BC�T November 73