By John Rowehl
This week we feature one of the research plots on one of the farms that is new to the on-farm soybean research network this year. In addition, we have a brief update on the seed treatment tests that are on our cooperating farms out across the state.
Cedar Hill Farm, owned and operated by the Eisenhour family, is a highly diversified crop and livestock farm located near Wellsville in York County. Jim Eisenhour, Jr. is in charge of the crop production on approximately six thousand (6,000) acres. Twenty seven hundred (2,700) acres of corn, sixteen hundred (1,600) of soybeans, six hundred (600) acres of wheat and the remaining acres are in hay.
Even though this is the first year that Cedar Hill Farm has participated in the On-Farm Soybean Research Network, they have jumped in with both feet, with one trial to evaluate MPower and a second one to test the response an application of PKPower.
Seed Treatment Trials
In our May 31 report, we focused on the seed treatment trial that is being conducted at Penn State’s Southeast Research and Extension Center located near Manheim in Lancaster County. Thirteen (13) additional trials are located in large-scale plots in cooperation with Pennsylvania soybean growers.
As of June 23, after stand counts were completed on ten of those farms, the plant population in the initial emergence counts for the strip plots show that treated seed averaged 122, 423 plants per acre and untreated plots averaged 113,000 plants per acre.
Two things need to be pointed out about this data. First, in contrast to the small plot test on the research farm that was planted early, many of the on-farm trials were planted later than what would be an “early” planting date. Typical early season conditions test a seed treatment’s ability to protect the seed from early season insects and diseases of germinating and early emerging soybean seedlings. Second, although there was not a vast difference in plant population between the treated and untreated, the emergence plant populations are still, in many cases, far below the planting rate that the cooperating farmers had their planters and drills adjusted to deliver. This is important for farmers to keep in mind if they are considering dropping the number of seeds planted per acre. After all, it isn’t the number of seeds planted that matters; it’s the final plant stand achieved that will determine if maximum economic yield is to be attainable. Do you make it a practice to check your emergence or harvest time soybean plant populations? You may be surprised at what you find.