Be Prepared to Plant Early in 2018

by | Oct 26, 2017 | HAT News Feed

Be Prepared to Plant Early in 2018

Brian Bush

Consistently across the state, crops that got planted in April have done better and yielded more than crops planted in late May. While it is not always possible to plant in April, DuPont Pioneer agronomist Brian Bush says be prepared to plant early in 2018 if you get the chance. ?We should be prepared to plant in early April if we get the window,? he stated. ?This does not mean you have to plant in April, but be prepared to take that opportunity if you can.? He added that one of the takeaways from 2017 is how important it is to plant early if you can.

One new development that is making early planting so successful is the advances we have seen in seed treatments. Bush said seed treatments today are light years ahead of what we had 15 years ago, ?As a result I feel much more confident about telling growers to plant early than I used to.? DuPont Pioneer had a new seed treatment on the market this year called Lumisena? and, while the test plot data is not complete from the 66 locations in IN and IL, Bush says preliminary results show a 1 1/2 bpa yield advantage. ?That is like adding an additional $13-$15 per acre to our bottom line with no additional cost,? he said. The seed treatment is expected to come standard for 2018.

Fall fertilization is another step that Bush recommends to make sure your fields are ready for planting as early as possible in 2018. He said higher yields in some fields this year may have depleted the soil and may need to be replaced this fall.

Listen to the complete report under the agronomy tab.

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