8 minute read
Systemic Success
By Nate Birt
Shifting Illinois soybean planting trends make seed treatments an excellent choice on most of your acres, experts say. Treated seeds can target fungi, insects and nematodes while also providing overall resilience in varied operating conditions.
That adds up to conserving yield potential for the growing season.
“Increasingly, there are fewer opportunities to not use a seed treatment," says Dale Ireland Ph.D., Syngenta Seedcare technical product lead. “I’m not saying everyone needs a seed treatment all the time. I’ll let growers make those decisions. They don’t get bitten multiple times without knowing something’s nibbling on them.”
And each bite of the apple—er, bean—cuts into Illinois producers’ economic viability. That’s why taking a closer look at seed treatment can prove to be beneficial.
“I was working with an Illinois farmer in the southeastern part of the state. He was struggling with standability and emergence,” recalls Katie Dowson, CEO and Marketing Manager at Seed Life LLC, which has supported Illinois soybean farmers since its founding in May 2018. The Virden, Ill., company specializes in seed equipment, sales and treatment, along with agronomic support.
“He knew those were key factors in the strength of his fields. So he came to me and we went through his treatment package. I was able to point out that he seemed to be deficient in a couple areas that were very important for emergence and plant health. He added that protection for the 2024 season, and his early planted soybeans practically jumped out of the ground and are off to the races.”
Planting trends boost seed treatments
Several factors help bolster the argument in favor of seed treatments, which Ireland estimates between 80 percent and 90 percent of Illinois soybean farmers use, up from 40 or 50 percent two decades ago. (At Seed Life, it’s 95 percent of all customers.) Virtually every corn seed they plant is already treated.
One of the key factors driving the choice to treat is timing. Illinois soybean farmers—especially in northern parts of the state—are planting earlier in the spring compared to past planting timelines, Ireland says.
“The earlier you plant, the cooler and wetter the soils, the more challenging it is to establish a stand,” Ireland explains. “There are tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of acres already in the soil after Tax Day. There’s increasing risk.”
Add low seeding rates to earlier planting dates and, you’ve effectively raised the stakes for your annual soybean crop. You have trickier conditions and fewer plants to bet on – meaning every soybean plant counts.
“The cooler the temperature, the longer a seed would take to imbibe [water] and to germinate,” Ireland says.
“A lot of people used to think soybeans don’t grow at all below 60° F. We know clearly that’s not true. They will. It just takes a very long time. There’s more chance for soil insects to feed on seed or fungi to begin to grow on seed and destroy that seed’s viability.”
Seed treatments 101
Seed treatments are specialized combinations of chemicals or biological agents added to a soybean seed’s exterior to provide protection against all kinds of problems young plants face. There are treatments that kill fungi (fungicides), insects (insecticides) and nematodes (nematicides). Ongoing research into biologicalbased seed treatments show they also may offer a range of benefits.
For decades, Syngenta has developed seed treatments addressing these issues and others, testing them at a major field research farm near Monticello, Ill.
New active ingredients from many manufacturers enter the market regularly. A trusted expert such a local ag retailer or a manufacturer-authorized treater takes naked seeds and applies the active ingredients you’ve purchased according to your trusted adviser’s prescription.
“They’re in liquid formulations,” Ireland says. “The directions for use are right there on the label.”
Although their modes of action vary widely, seed treatments work to protect baby soybean plants through germination, development and establishment between 3” and 4” tall. Once a plant reaches that point, “it can kind of live on its own and defend itself, to some extent, or outgrow its pests,” Ireland says.
Seed treatments can do an excellent job keeping top seedling threats in check, experts say, including:
Pythium
Phytophthora
Fusarium root rot
Red crown rot
Sudden death syndrome (SDS)
Seed treatment economics
To evaluate the economic return on investment of a particular seed treatment, consider a few details.
First, determine the yield potential of the soybean varieties you are planting. A majority of Illinois soybean farmers use some type of seed treatment regardless of variety. But for those varieties to reach their top yield potential, they need protection from fungi, insects and other pests.
Investing a few dollars per acre in a seed treatment can allow you to capture top dollar on those high-yielding soybeans, especially if you’ve mitigated key threats such as Phytophthora and Pythium. Seed treatments can ensure your plants are mirror images of one another versus a
combination of healthy plants and stunted ones that can turn into weeds, sucking nutrients only to produce weak pods.
At Seed Life, treatment packages range from $8 per acre to $24 per acre. Your seed representative can give you tremendous insights into seedtreatment selection, Katie explains. Ideally, you’ll have between three and five years of seed-treatment data to review to determine which packages pencil out.
“We sell NuTech seed, and their seed books give scorings for certain disease pressures, insect pressures, stem strength, emergence and more,” Katie says. “If you have an incredible soybean that has what we call an Achilles heel, typically you can find a great soybean treatment that can really help that soybean reach its full potential. For example, if you have a soybean that has a low SDS number, get SDS protection in your treatment package.”
Second, consider the time savings you’ll capture by only needing to plant once. As many farms grow larger and run multiple planters at once, it’s important to do things right and avoid the need to replant three to four weeks later because soybeans don’t emerge properly.
Third, recognize that an array of complex variables— including numerous available active ingredients and plant varieties—increasingly require expert guidance. Study what your fields need with help from a trusted adviser so you get the proper active ingredients in seed treatments to go the distance.
Ireland recommends planning your seed treatment needs around the harvest season. This enables you to understand what chemistries are on the market— and how your choices for this year’s crop performed.
“Maybe it stood well, maybe it didn’t stand as well, yield levels, canopy closure—those types of evaluations are important,” Ireland explains. “Seed treatment talks often happen about the same time simply because you’re thinking about your variety selection and hybrid selection.”
Finally, recognize it’s possible to overpay for higher-priced formulated treatment or miss out on yield with a generic option. Know what you’re getting, and don’t buy features that won’t benefit your beans, Katie adds.
“The farmer and the salesman should be sitting down together and discussing the most logical option that is going to make their farm the most money,” she says.
Research and development
While you plan for next season’s seed treatment needs, seed-treatment companies are thinking ahead in multi-year increments to keep your field at peak performance.
Developing new seed treatments takes time: A new active ingredient from Syngenta will target both fungi and nematodes and is due out in early 2025. It’s been in development since 2015 and has been extensively researched across multiple states, supplied thousands of data points and received detailed regulatory review.
“It’s nothing we do in a week or a year or five years,” Ireland explains.
Seed treatment production is best viewed as technological innovation that requires hundreds of millions of dollars in expertise, money and time.
“There are also a lot of upcoming treatments that can really help the soybean germinate and emerge so much faster, thus making each plant that much stronger,” Katie adds. She sees biologicals playing a much bigger role in the seasons ahead.
A recipe for success
Seed treatments might add a little pop of color to your soybeans, but experts say they do much more. They give each plant the best chance for success, and they’re constantly improving in response to changing planting and environmental conditions. Farmer buying trends suggest they’re an investment worth making.
“If you know your soil, know the data on your beans and know what seed protection could best suit all of your specific situation, you will have high-yielding fields,” Katie says.
