Emergence | | Latham Hi-Tech Seeds

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

A Simple Solution to an Even Stand

A great growing season begins with picket fence stands and even emergence. With this goal in mind we are excited to continue offering the TALC USA line of premium Talc, Graphite and Microsurge Innoculant products. Each of these products provides unique qualities to improve planter performance and enhance yield through seed-applied biologicals. Our product line catalog featured at right includes features and benefits for each product, but I’d like to highlight a few I believe farmers across Latham Country can especially benefit from:

Talc and Talc 80/20 Graphite Blend: Why use TALC USA’s talc and talc/graphite blend products? They are a high-grade premium 200 micron grind Talc for improved planter performance but also fortified with iron and manganese for increased yield & plant health.

Inceptive: Inceptive, equipped with a Harpin Protein, is designed to enhance your plant’s defense mechanism. It’s easy to use by mixing with either Talc or 80/20 Talc Graphite to suppress cyst and pest nematodes. Inceptive promotes improved root systems and germination while also increasing photosynthesis and early vigor.

MicroSurge Corn and Soybean Inoculants: Microsurge inoculants can be easily applied by mixing with Talc and 80/20 Talc Graphite as a planter box treatment and are designed to increase mycorrhizal activity for improved soil health.

Contact your Latham Representative for information on which products might get your crop off to a great start this growing season.

Gary Geske

February 4, 2020

Agronomics, Emergence, Growth Stages, Season, Spring, Tech Tuesday
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Uneven Corn Stands

Uneven corn stands? Tune in to hear what to watch for next from Phil Long! #AskTheAgronomist

0:15 — Recap of the growing season

1:10 — #Plant19 Challenges

2:36 — Issues with emerging corn: damping off, herbicide damage, ponding or crusting

4:40 — Yield Repercussions

6:30 — Managing uneven corn stands

Laura Cunningham

June 20, 2019

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

Factors of Sidewall Compaction

Many farmers are pushing the envelope to get their crop in the ground this season. With moisture continuing to be a real issue, we run into problems with sidewall compaction. We have three examples below of scenarios that can lead to sidewall compaction issues later on: open trench, rubber closing wheels and spiked closing wheels.

Sidewall compaction can result from V-openers “smearing” through wet soil. Gauge wheels or planter lift wheels will then compound the problem. When the soil dries it becomes too hard for roots to penetrate through and develop the root system.

If you see an open trench, the key takeaway is to decrease your unit down pressure and increase closing wheel down pressure. During a seed’s crucial growth stage, it transitions from growing seedling roots into developing its nodal root system. This tends to be around V2 and V3 and is when you can see implications of sidewall compaction. When the seedling shuts down those seedling roots the nodal root system starts to grow horizontally along the trench searching for water. You may start to see nutrient deficiency symptoms, yellowing corn, stunted growth or floppy corn.

The University of Kentucky released a study showing a 50 percent yield reduction when corn is planted in a completely open trench. We recommend avoiding sidewall compaction by either staying out of the field until conditions are suitable, staggering your closing wheels or investing in the spiked closing wheels. The spiked wheels leave a zippered pattern in the soil that breaks down the sidewalls to ensure seed to soil contact.

Sidewall compaction is not something you can see from your planter, so we encourage you to jump out and look at what’s happening with your seed to soil contact. Dig few plants and wash off the roots to determine how growth is proceeding. Knowing this information early on will be important for late season windy and wet weather, and for evaluating stalk quality when harvest approaches later in the season.

Example 1 – Open Trench

Example 2 – Rubber Closing Wheels

Example 3 – Spiked Closing Wheels

Phil Long

June 4, 2019

Agronomics, Emergence, Rain, Season, Spring, Tech Tuesday, Weather
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#AskTheAgronomist: Crusting Soils

How does crusting and rolling soybeans go hand in hand this season? Phil Long talks about these two topics in reference to this year’s growing season.

Laura Cunningham

May 16, 2019

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Drought, Emergence, Rain, Season, Soil, Spring, Weather
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

#AskTheAgronomist: Imbibitional Chilling or Chilling Injury?

Will your planted fields be affected by imbibitional chilling? Tune in the hear symptoms of the chilling effect.

Laura Cunningham

May 9, 2019

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, Frost, Season, Soybeans, Spring, Weather
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Imbibitional Chilling

Causes of Imbibitional Chilling

Imbibitional chilling occurs during the process by which crops absorb water prior to germinating, a phase known as imbibition. Under optimal conditions, seeds should be planted when soil temperatures are above 55°F. When seeds are planted in soils below optimal temperature, the uptake of cold water can damage cells and cause seeds to rupture. This can lead seeds to become shriveled and cause seedlings to emerge late, in a corkscrew shape, or not at all.

If an injured seed eventually develops into an emerged seedling, it can become more vulnerable to disease or damage from herbicides. The risk of imbibitional chilling especially increases when soil temperatures fall below 50°F. Imbibitional chilling or cold injury can occur within 24 to 36 hours of planting, making the relationship between planting timing and soil temperature critical.

Preventing Chilling Injury

As the injury to seedlings occurs after planting, there is little preventive action that can be taken aside from planting when soil temperature is optimal. In the best case, if enough time is afforded between planting and the drop in soil temperature, a seed is less likely to undergo chilling if it is able to absorb warm water. There are ways to determine if imbibitional chilling has occurred after planting. When scouting, look for signs of inconsistent emergence. If a plant looks to be missing, dig into the soil around the area to see if a seedling can be found. If it has a corkscrew shape, underwent leaf emergence below ground, or is missing parts, these are also signs of imbibitional chilling. Delayed emergence of a seed can be the result of reduced seed vigor that can result from imbibitional chilling.

Soil temperatures should be monitored and averaged for the week preceding the projected planting date. To determine the soil temperature on the chosen planting day, take the temperature of the soil just after sunrise – the coldest part of the subsequent 24-hour period. Soil temperature changes more slowly than air temperature, but air temperature can still be a strong indicator for what to expect with soil temperature. If it is projected that soil temperature will remain above 50°F for 24 to 48 hours after planting, imbibitional chilling can be avoided.

Latham Seeds Agronomy Team

April 1, 2019

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, Soybeans, Spring
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Rootless Corn Syndrome

Credit: Iowa State University

Rootless corn syndrome is a disorder, often a result of hot and dry soil surfaces and planting into dry soil. With rootless corn syndrome, the nodal roots will fail to attach to the soil. Nodal roots are essential conduits for transporting water and nutrients to corn plants. Their absence is highly consequential for the quality of stand and overall yield outcomes.

Dry soils warm more rapidly than moist soils, and combined with conventional tilling, corn plants can become susceptible to failed nodal root development. Heavy rainfall and planting when the soil is too wet can compact the soil, preventing nodal roots from extending downward.

The erosive effects of rainfall and wind combined with shallow planting depth are the primary drivers of rootless corn syndrome. In addition to weather-related causes, when corn is planted at a depth less than 1 inch below the surface, nodal root development can take place at a depth shallower than what is needed for having access to moist soil. Nodal roots should form between 1 to 1.5 inches below the surface.

What to Look for

Nodal roots first appear around the V1 and V2 stage. Rootless corn occurs in plants with poorly developed root systems and is usually observed in plants from about V3 to V8. When rootless corn syndrome is suspected, look for signs of lodged and collapsed corn plants. Corn plants may still be standing but later on they will lose vigor and fall over. Test plants in the area of concern by tugging on them to determine whether nodal roots are established and growing down.

Preventative Action

Rootless corn can largely be prevented by ensuring that seeds are planted at least 1.5 to 2 inches below the soil surface. For corn plants whose nodal roots fail to grow, the prospects for survival are bleak. Corn nutrient and water uptake hinges on having a developed nodal root system. For plants that do survive, poor stands and low vigor will be exhibited.

Moving soil to cover roots may allow them to recover – but if an operation is following a no-till plan, this may not be viable. Further, row cultivation for bringing soil around nodal roots will be ineffective if the soil below the surface lacks moisture for supporting recovery. Adequate rainfall and the absence of drought conditions will support optimal nodal root development and prevent rootless corn syndrome.

Latham Seeds Agronomy Team

April 1, 2019

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Disease, Drought, Emergence
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Protect Soybeans from Cold Temperatures
Many of our minds are already on the upcoming planting season. This week someone posed the following question, “How hard of a frost can soybeans withstand?”

It’s a great question, so I wanted to address the topic of early planting a bit, well, “earlier” than usual!

The first thing to keep in mind is that cold temperatures at or before planting can negatively affect the growing point of the plant. For corn, that growing point stays under the soil surface until the V5-V6 stage, helping protect the plant to a certain degree from colder weather spells for several weeks. For soybeans, however, the growing point comes out of the ground at emergence. Therefore, a soybean seedling is immediately vulnerable to cold weather.

Using a fungicide seed treatment will help protect young soybeans from seedling diseases at this early stage, but they are not designed to protect against cold temperatures. Soybeans typically require over 100 growing degree units (GDU’s) to accumulate before emergence, which is similar to corn that requires about 125 GDU’s. Abiding by the minimum soil temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit will keep you away from poor emergence and the seedling disease risk associated with soil temps below 50 degrees. That’s why I suggest watching the weather forecasts before you plant soybean seed, and do your best to ensure hard frosts (which take place at 28 degrees Fahrenheit) are no longer possible.

Remember, when soybeans emerge, they have a growing point at the base of each cotyledon and at the main shoot. The main shoot is the small leaves in-between the cotyledons. If you notice brown on the stem below the cotyledons, the plant will not recover. Early planting is proven to provide higher yields, but it is is fine balance between the two, so watch weather forecasts and soil temperatures so you can find the balance on your own farm.

Additional tips to keep in mind before planting:
1. Grab a clump of soil and watch how easily it crumbles. If it stays in a ball, conditions are NOT right for planting. If it crumbles easily, the soil is fit for planting.
2. Make sure your planting date is covered in your farm insurance policy – this includes your “do not plant before” dates. If you plant outside those dates, your insurance could be jeopardized.
Phil Long

April 1, 2019

Agronomics, Crop, Emergence, Frost, Season, Soybeans, Tech Tuesday, Weather, Winter
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

FB LIVE: Pros & Cons of Rolling

Is rolling your fields the best option? Tune in to here the pros and cons of rolling.

FB Live Link: https://www.facebook.com/LathamSeeds/videos/10156478876747138/

Laura Cunningham

June 14, 2018

#AskTheAgronomist, Agronomics, Emergence, General

Ask the Agronomist, From the Field, Rolling
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Calculating Stand Counts

As crops emerge across Latham territory, the time has arrived to evaluate planting results. Here’s a quick how-to on taking stand counts in your fields.

Webspec Admin

May 28, 2015

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Emergence, General