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Extensive growth and development research by Pioneer over the last couple years has evolved into the Corn Revolution. The most comprehensive corn germplasm library has produced the best performing hybrids in the industry. To learn more go to CornRevolution.com.
PODCAST:
Check out our series of podcasts to learn what’s behind Pioneer’s Corn Revolution: https://go.pioneer.com/cornrevolution-podcast
Come join us for our annual Winter Crop Shop meeting Thursday, March 28. It’ll be held at the Boulders Inn Conference Room at 10:30am. Free Lunch from Backdraft to follow the meeting!
Our lead Pioneer Agronomist , Steve Leusink will also be there going over current challenges growers are facing and better preparation tactics for Spring 2019 Planting.
Hope you see you there!
Minimizing soybean harvest losses can mean substantially higher yields and profits. Good harvest practices can reduce losses to near 3%, or only 1 to 2 bu/acre. However, delayed harvest or poorly adjusted equipment can result in losses of 10% or more. Since soybeans dry very quickly, close monitoring of grain moisture is required for timely harvest. In addition, combines must be properly adjusted, frequently checked and carefully operated to minimize losses.
Over the last 4 years of a Pioneer Sponsored High Yields Soybean Challenge Contest, they have seen an average yield gain of +7.0 bu./ac by harvesting at 13% moisture vs. 10% moisture. In our area, this is much easier said than done, especially in years where we have warm, dry weather and the soybeans drop moisture very quickly. Soybeans at optimal harvest moistures will likely still have a bit of green color in the stems across the field. In the last several years, Pioneer has consistently seen the highest soybean yields come from the first 7-10 days of soybean harvest.
GUIDELINES:
Typically more than 75 percent of soybean machine harvesting losses are gathering losses, so greatest attention should be given to proper header adjustment and operation. Some of the more important things to remember are:
SOURCE: Pedersen, P. 2006. Combine setting for minimum harvest loss. Soybean Extension and Research Program, Iowa State U. Online:
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/production_combineset.html
Water Needs and Drought Effects
Every year corn producers somewhere struggle with drought conditions. The extent of corn yield loss is determined by stage of growth when drought hits as well as the hybrid's ability to withstand drought stress.
Estimated corn evapotranspiration and yield loss per stress day during various stages of growth
Follow this Pioneer source to learn more: https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/library/corn-drought-affects/
Corn can face many different stresses capable of reducing stands, such as cold or wet soils, insect feeding, and unfavorable weather conditions. In severe cases of stand reduction, growers will need to determine if replanting will be more profitable than keeping the current crop.
Stand Evaluation
Stand counts. Step one in a replant decision is to determine how much the current corn stand has been reduced from the targeted stand. Reduced stands of healthy plants are easier to assess than stands of weak or injured plants. When an injury event such as frost or hail occurs it is best to wait a few days to perform a stand assessment, as it will allow a better determination of whether plants will actually recover or not.
To determine a plant stand for row crops, take several sample counts to represent the field or area under consideration. For ease of calculation, a sample size of 1/1000th of an acre is recommended. Measure off the distance appropriate for your row width, count the number of live plants and multiply by 1000 to obtain a reasonable estimate of plants/acre.
Row lengths equal to 1/1000th of an acre.
Row Width Length of Row
Stand counts should be taken randomly across the entire area of the field being considered for replant; this may include the entire field or a limited area where damage occurred. The accuracy of your stand estimate will improve with the number of locations sampled within the damaged area.
Plant health. Once the plant stand has been determined, it is important to consider the health of the surviving plants. Plants that survive but are severely injured or defoliated will have reduced photosynthetic capability and a lower yield potential.
Stand uniformity. Consider whether surviving plants are evenly distributed in the field or if the stand is uneven, with frequent long gaps in the rows, An uneven stand will yield less than a relatively even stand with the same number of plants.
Yield Potential
Once the stand has been assessed, the expected yield from the current stand should be compared to expected replant yield. In general, the image shows that yield potential increases with increased stand up to the optimum of 35,000 plants/acre, and declines with planting dates later than April 20 and earlier than April 10. For example, a field planted April 30 with a final stand of 20,000 plants/acre would out-yield a final stand of 30,000 plants/acre planted on May 29.
Profitability of Replant
Even if replanting will increase yield, the yield increase must be sufficient to pay for all of the costs associated with replant such as:
Also consider these factors when making a replant decision:
Source Image: Emerson Nafziger, Eric Adee, and Lyle Paul, University of Illinois.
Source Content: https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/library/corn-replant-decisions/#tab1
