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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Staging and Application: Make the Right Decisions

Planting across Latham Country has been progressing at a rapid pace and it will not be long before post-emergence spraying will begin. When to spray, what to spray, should I spray . . . these are some of the questions growers need to consider before heading to the field. I believe “when to spray” is one of the most critical decisions a grower will make. Damaging or injuring a young plant can have lasting affects that may not be visible to the naked eye. Understanding growth stages and relating this to the labeled requirements is a key to successful growing season. Let’s take a look at corn first.

Labels typically refer to growth stages for application timing and the chart below is a good reference.

Image: University of Illinois

VE Stage – Corn emergence occurs when the coleoptiles reach and break through the soil surface. Normally, corn requires approximately 100-200 GDUs to emerge, which can be four to five days after planting. At this stage, growth is also taking place below the ground as the nodal root system begins to grow.

Emergence may occur as rapidly as four or five days after planting in warm moist soil, or may take three weeks or more in cool soils. A new leaf will appear about every three days during early growth, while later leaves developing during warmer conditions may appear in one to two days. Full season hybrids in the central Corn Belt typically can produce 21 to 22 leaves. Earlier maturing hybrids will produce fewer leaves.

Keep these numbers in mind as you plan out your season and prepare to spray your fields. Within a month after planting, a corn plant can go from the bag to V5-V7 if conditions are favorable.

Soybeans in a given field will not be in the same stage at the same time. When staging a field of soybeans, each V or R stage is defined when 50% or more of the plants in the field are in or beyond that stage. This makes it important to understand staging and development since not every plant in the field will be at the same stage when determining application timing. The chart below is a good reference for staging.

The general rule of thumb is to figure five days between growth stages in soybeans. The most important growth stage is R1 which is classified as one flower open at any node on the main stem. Soybean flowers are very sensitive and herbicide application should be avoided at this stage. R1 can begin before canopy closure and the temptation is there to make that final application before canopy closure. A good pre-plant program can help avoid the need for late season spraying and a few late escapes is not worth the consequences from spraying post-flower.

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Team Latham

May 25, 2023

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, Growth Stages, Soybeans, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#FromtheField – Week of May 1, 2023

Take a look across Latham Country! We’re coming to you every week.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seed’s Corn Plot going in Northern Iowa!

Webspec Admin

May 4, 2023

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, From the Field, Growth Stages, Season, Soybeans, Spring
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Drive Yield with Soil Health and Customized Plant Nutrition
It’s no secret that optimal yields result from a combination of many factors: environment, plant nutrition and nutrients to name a few.

Plant nutrition is key to maximizing the yield potential of today’s plant genetics. To meet the intensive nutritional demands of these plants, there must be a higher fidelity to soil condition and nutrition. Removing nutrients removes nutrition from the soil reserves.

There is a no “one-size-fits-all” nutrition program, and there are many variations of soils and environments. So customizing nutrition programs by field can help optimize yield. Today’s technology allows us to do just that!

Many years ago, we heard about a farmer who found a unique combination of cover crops that worked well for his soils and climate. He tracked everything precisely and found that soil organic matter (OM) increases by 0.1% each year. This may not seem like much, but the impacts are exponential. In 10 years, you gain 1% more OM. For every 1% OM, the soil can hold 1 acre inch of rain. That’s 27,000 gallons of water.

This farmer is improving water and nutrient-holding capacity of the soil in the root zone. During drought years, his farm’s yield was only down 10 bushels while the average yield decrease was 60 bushels. Plus, his farm produced the same yields using less nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) because leaching is reduced.

Why not experiment on your own farm? Start small and see how you can capture more yield on the same acre. Here are a couple resources to help you get started:
- Try Something New
- On-Farm Research Helps Find Palatable Solutions
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Webspec Admin

February 22, 2023

Agronomics, Cover Crops, Crop, Disease, Emergence, Fertility, General, Growth Stages, Soil
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#AsktheAgronomist – Why is Sulfur and Nitrogen Important?

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Webspec Admin

February 15, 2023

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Mitigate Weather Risks with Best Management Practices
Weather concerns are top of mind as farmers across Latham Country look ahead to spring 2023 planting. Customers frequently ask us how to mitigate risk from the 2022 wet planting season.

While we want to maximize the yield potential of early planting, 2022 data shows us that delayed planting can result in very good yields — and better yields than planting when conditions are unfit.

Consider these factors to successfully mitigate potential risks of delayed planting:
1. Minimize compaction during field preparation.
  - A uniform seed bed creates the best opportunity to plant your crop with precision.
  - Minimize passes in the spring while creating a uniform seed bed.
  - Be careful not to cause sidewall compaction of seed trench at planting.
2. Plant your corn crop with precision. We want all plants to emerge within 72 hours. This creates the best root system to maximize water use through the entire growing season.
  - Plant a consistent seed depth.
  - Check for consistent seed spacing.
  - Ensure great seed-to-soil contact.
  - Delay planting if cold temps or cold rain is forecasted within 72 hours after planting.
3. Promote a healthy root system with fertility. Good fertility programs maintain a healthy, strong root system to effectively use available water.
  - Starter fertilizer gets corn plants off to the best start possible.
  - Side-dress Nitrogen in a timely manner to nurse optimum plant health.
  - Maintain a good fertility balance, using soil testing as a guide.
We suggest staying with a hybrid selection plan that does not vary significantly from previous years. A couple management changes at planting time to get your crop off to a great start will result in more success than totally changing your hybrid selection.

Remember, most corn yield is created in July and August. Get your plants off to the best start, so they can take advantage of that part of the growing season. Don’t get discouraged if you encounter a bit of a delay. Stick to the hybrids in your original plan through the end of May.

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Webspec Admin

February 14, 2023

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, General, Growth Stages, Precision Ag, Season, Soil, Soybeans, Spring
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Match Hybrids to Your Management Style

Precision Agronomy Advisor, Phil Long

Agronomists often tout the merits of selecting hybrids to fit your soil types, but it’s also important to select hybrids that match your management style.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ Premier Agronomy Center provides opportunities for us to learn and share how Latham® products interact with the environment and perform under different management styles. In 2022, we adapted our stress wheel study to show how different Latham brand hybrids react to population differences. We planted 20 different Latham hybrids at both 24,000 and 36,000 plants per acre (ppa) to track how each hybrid adjusts its ear flex – or yield – to high- and low-competition environments.

Overall corn yield comes from three areas: (1) plants per acre; (2) ears per plant; and (3) weight per ear. If we look specifically at an individual corn plant, yield comes from these three areas: girth in the early season, length in mid-season and kernel depth in late season. The hybrid stress test helps us better understand how your favorite Latham hybrids adjust their yield in high- or low-stress environments, which in turn helps you better understand when to reduce stress for these hybrids.

For example, if a hybrid gets most of its yield from flex in girth, you should reduce early-season stress. Plant these hybrids in warm soils; provide fertility at the planter, and make sure nitrogen is in an available form early in the season. All hybrids determine girth based on how healthy or stressed the plants are from emergence to V7, so anything you can do to help them at that stage retains more yield.

The critical time for hybrids that flex in length is from V8 to R2. Making sure these hybrids are healthy in early summer is more important. Side-dress applications are beneficial to these hybrids.

The last group is those that flex in kernel depth, which occurs from R3 to R6 when the corn is filling its kernels, so nutrients move from leaves to the ear. These hybrids can benefit greatly from fungicide because it gives them extra time in the grain fill stage to add weight to the ear.

Although we always talk about hybrids flexing up for bigger yields, a corn plant thinks of it differently. It starts with very high expectations and then flexes down in each direction based on the stress it encounters during the season. Each hybrid’s genetics can vary by how much emphasis it puts on these three areas of yield.

We were intrigued by what we learned from our stress test in 2022 and look forward to learning more in 2023 about how our hybrids adjust their yield. Talk with your local Latham® rep to help you match our hybrids to your management style. Each local salesperson is supported by a team of seed specialists located across our six-state territory.

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Team Latham

January 26, 2023

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Disease, Emergence, General, Growth Stages
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Three Keys to High-Yielding Soybeans
Our focus for Latham Premier Agronomy Center in Alexander, Iowa, is to showcase a broad lineup of independent options and to demonstrate how genetics interact with the environment and management styles (G X E X M).

In the Premier Agronomy Center this year, we tested 26 Latham® soybean varieties using 28 different management practices. My top take-home messages for our 2022 soybean plots are:
1. August rains make soybeans. We received 11.8 inches of rain this season but 4.1 inches of it fell in August. Although we received below-normal moisture, the rain came at the right time. Our plots averaged 75 bushels per acre (bu/A) on about 12 total inches of rain!
2. Don’t stress soybeans at early bloom. Weed control in soybeans is extremely important. I made a second pass of Liberty® in season, however, it reduced yields by 10 percent. Our showcase plots did not get the extra dose of herbicide and averaged 86 bu/A; the plots that received a second pass yielded an average of 78 bu/A.
3. “Early” planting date is key to high yield. While earlier is better, “early” does not mean April 10 because we don’t want to risk stand loss to freezing temps. This year our first soybean plots were planted later than expected due to conditions. The plots planted May 13 averaged 5.5 bu/A better than the plots planted May 20. Seven days can make a difference in the number of nodes and pods retained, plus the canopy closes sooner.
The key to higher yields is how all three components – genetics by environment by management – interact. Fertility tops my list, so I always make sure potassium is sufficient. Potassium is what gets soybeans (and corn) through stressful times and helps them better manage water loss on hot days.

Latham® soybeans have outstanding yield potential. But like all living and breathing organisms, our soybeans struggle to perform when they’re stressed at the wrong time. The key to top soybean yields is management: reduce as much stress as possible during the growing season because we can’t control the weather.

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Team Latham

December 8, 2022

Agronomics, Crop, Disease, Emergence, Fertility, Fungicide, General, Growth Stages, Insects, Seed Treatment, Soil, Soybeans, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

The Importance of Corn Planting Date and Depth

At the Latham Premier Agronomy Center, we have many demonstrations including different corn planting dates and planting depths to show how these two important factors influence yield year after year. Research shows that 50 to 75% of corn yield increases during the past 70 years came from genetic advancements, which leaves 25 to 50% of that yield increase to changes we’ve made to our farming practices.

Planting date and planting depth are cultural practices that have led to increased corn yield. Fifty years ago, farmers were talking about planting earlier than mid-May. Today we talk about planting earlier than April 15!

Our adapted hybrids produce the best yields when planted in the first week to 10 days of May. This is usually due to disease, stand loss or slow growth early in the corn life cycle. This is something we know well, and it’s why Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds includes emergence and early vigor scores in our product guide.

Matching the right hybrid to the right field and planting it at the right time can lead to outstanding yields – but only if you also plant at the proper depth. Planting corn at the proper depth allows the crown to establish approximately three-fourths of an inch below the soil surface.

Why is crown development so crucial? If the crown is pushed to the soil surface due to shallow planting, at least one set of nodal roots typically establishes above ground. We want nodal roots to develop below ground to anchor the plant and to also increase the corn plant’s drought tolerance. Corn should be planted about 2.5 inches deep, which allows it to establish the crown just below the soil surface. Shallow planting depth causes issues with germination due to dry soils.

We look forward to harvesting our demo plots at Latham’s Premier Agronomy Center and sharing results with you throughout the summer. Have a safe spring season!

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Webspec Admin

September 15, 2022

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, From the Field, General, Growth Stages
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#AsktheAgronomist – Tough Start

It’s been a tough start to the 2022 season with delayed planting and cool weather. Phil Long, precision agronomy advisor, unpacks GDUs across Latham Country and when corn and soybean stands will really take off. Check out more agronomy videos.

Team Latham

June 7, 2022

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, From the Field, Growth Stages, Soil, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#AsktheAgronomist – Stand Count

Team Latham

May 26, 2022

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Crop, Emergence, Growth Stages, Soybeans