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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Benefits of Soybean Seed Treatments

Instead of viewing seed treatment as an input cost, consider it an investment – an insurance policy if you will. After all, it takes less than a bushel of soybeans to pay for the cost of treatment!

Wet, poorly drained soils favor the development of fungal pathogens that cause seedling diseases, which slow germination and plant growth. Seed treatments protect seedlings until they have a fairly well-established root system.

To help the seeds go through the planter better, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds adds a proprietary blend of polymer and seed coating. Our customers say they waste less seed and see more even stands, resulting in better yield potential and ultimately an increased return on investment.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ signature SoyShield^TM, a fungicide-only package, and SoyShield Plus^TM with fungicide and insecticide, protect seeds from disease and insect damage for up to 30 days. This time frame is longer than many other seed treatments and is typically an adequate window of protection.

SoyShield Plus includes an exclusive fungicide combination that provides excellent protection against seed and soil borne diseases including: Pythium, Phytophthora, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia. In addition, seed treatments can provide health benefits for more rapid and increased germination under certain conditions.

Some seed treatments also help protect against nematodes, which are becoming more prevalent. Many fully-loaded treatments may have innoculants, micronutrients or plant food. Interested in learning more? Talk to your local Latham® representative or leave your comments below. You’re also welcome to call me at 1-877-GO-LATHAM (1-877-465-2842).

Webspec Admin

March 20, 2014

Agronomics, General, Seed Treatment
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Systematic, Diverse Approach Needed for RW Management
A systematic, diverse approach to corn rootworm management is needed if growers are to have successful corn-on-corn acres in the future, said Dr. Aaron Gassmann while presenting last month during the 25^th Annual Integrated Crop Management Conference on the Iowa State University campus.

Since 2009, Dr. Gassmann has studied the use of Bt corn hybrids in Iowa. He says the number of fields showing severe rootworm injury has increased every year primarily due to the overuse of one specific trait on fields for many consecutive years, lack of refuge compliance, and lack of scouting for both larval rootworm and adult beetles.

Farms with continuous corn production, and specifically those fields planted to the same Bt event year-after-year, are most at-risk for developing a resistant population. To delay resistance, Dr. Gassman and his colleagues recommend the following IPM approaches:
- Rotate to soybeans or other crops to break the corn rootworm life cycle between growing seasons.
- Consider using corn that contains different Bt proteins than ones that may have performed poorly in the past.
- Consider using pyramided Bt hybrids, which is defined as corn that contains multiple Bt proteins targeting corn rootworm.
Implementing a long-term integrated approach to corn rootworm management is most important, according to Gassmann. Integration of tactics across seasons is fundamental to prolonging the usefulness of any effective management strategy
Webspec Admin

January 30, 2014

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General, Insects
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Evaluating Foliar Fungicide on Soybeans
Many Midwest farmers are asking questions about the benefits of spraying foliar fungicides on their soybean fields. The simple truth is… there are a lot of opinions.

Be very leery when they are bombarded by claims of yield increases due to improved overall plant health. Do some of your own testing before deciding to make large-scale applications of these products. It may very well prove that fungicides of this type will pay great dividends on certain farms and pay zero dividends on others!

There is one very important thing to remember when conducting trials of this kind: leave some areas in the field unsprayed to “check” the actual value of the products. As you make plans for the 2014 crop, keep these three things in mind:
1. Be sure you’re making an apples-to-apples comparison. For example, I’ve received reports from farmers who advocate the use of foliar fungicides on soybeans. However, the fields they compared were several miles away and some were not even the same soybean variety!
2. There are people out there who want to sell you something, regardless of whether you need it.
3. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
One of our brand promises at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is to help farmers save time. Another promise is to help farmers reduce risk. That’s why I’m being as honest as possible by questioning the investment in foliar fungicide on soybeans. Seed treatments, on the other hand, are worth the investment. Seed treatments are one key to achieving higher soybean yields; click here for others.
Webspec Admin

January 22, 2014

Agronomics, Crop, Fungicide, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Weeds Grew Above Canopy in 70% of Iowa Soybean Fields

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 25^th Annual Integrated Crop Management Conference on campus at Iowa State University in Ames. This conference provides the latest information on crop production technology, and I always look forward to hearing research findings that can help farmers increase yields.

It comes as no surprise that the first session of the first day would be a Weed Management Update from Dr. Mike Owen. What was a surprise is just how severe the growing weed resistance problem has become! A survey completed this fall shows that 70% of all soybean fields in Iowa had weeds showing above the canopy at harvest.

Although the most current emphasis has been on glyphosate-resistant weeds, it’s important to understand that all herbicides used on a stand-alone basis will eventually fail. The best management practice for achieving weed control is still a diversity of tactics: cultural, mechanical and herbicide.

Soybean growers should choose programs that will use products from as many herbicide groups, or families, as possible. There are no new herbicide mechanisms of action for the coming year, but there will be some new mixtures and new formulations using older class chemistries as base components. Rotating between various herbicide traits is important from the standpoint of reducing weed resistance is also key to achieving higher soybean yields.

Correct management of weeds will make you more money every year than managing any other pest complex, writes Dr. Owen in a blog post. Herbicide-resistant weed populations are increasing at an increasing rate in Iowa; these weed shifts are the result of the management decisions you make. No single tactic will protect the potential crop yield nor deter the evolution of herbicide-resistant weed populations. Be proactive and make plans to manage herbicide resistance in 2014.

Webspec Admin

December 9, 2013

Agronomics, General, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Sample Soils Now to Increase Yield in 2014

Post-harvest is the perfect time to take soil samples. As part of his summer internship, Iowa State University student Kellen Sunkten prepared the following article to explain what a soil test is and why it’s so important.

What a soil test is: A soil test is a process of testing soil to see how available nutrients are to a plant. Nutrients are chemically removed from the soil and measured. The information retained from soil tests is then used to determine how much fertilizer needs to be applied to a field and what nutrient deficiencies must be addressed. Soil pH, humic matter and exchangeable acidity are also measured to determine how much, if any, lime needs to be applied.

Why soil tests are important: Soil tests are important to determine the right amount of fertilizer. If too little fertilizer is applied, it can cause growth deficiencies in crops. If too much fertilizer applied, it’s a financial waste for farmers and runoff becomes an issue. Soil samples can help farmers develop a plan for maximum crop growth and efficiency.

When sampling should be done: Soil samples should not be taken within 8 weeks of previous fertilizer application. Soil sampling should be done as early as possible before planting season to provide for enough time to make fertilizer decisions and have them take effect once applied. It’s important to apply lime early, if needed, so it has enough time to alter the pH of the soil before planting takes place.

How to take a soil sample: Use a soil probe and a spade or a hand trowel to dig a V–shaped hole that is 6 to 8 inches below the soilsurface. Then take a 1-inch slab off of the side of the hole and put it in a clean plastic bucket or bag. Take 15 to 20 surface samples per 40 acres. As you take these samples, put them into the same bucket or bag. When you are finished collecting your samples, mix them all together very well. Then pull one sample from the mixture for the soil testing lab. When collecting samples, it’s very important not to use brass, bronze or galvanized tools because they will contaminate your samples with copper and zinc. Deliver samples to the testing lab within 48 hours of when they are pulled, otherwise bacterial movement will skew the results.

Collecting soil samples now also can (1) help determine whether soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) are present and (2) buy time to develop management strategies, controlling nematode numbers in infested fields.

Fall grid samples are also useful for those farmers who wish to enroll in Latham’s hallmark Seed-2-Soil® program. Seed-2-Soil helps simplify the crop planning and seed selection processes plus maximize overall yield potential. It begins with a discussion with a farmer and his Latham® seed rep about all the variables that go into your farming practices each year. Then a scientific computer program helps fit the right seed to the field. Research has shown that correct product placement leads to a 3-7% yield improvement.

Contact Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds today and harness the power of Seed-2-Soil and fall soil sampling!

Team Latham

November 13, 2013

Agronomics, General, Soil
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tips for Late-Season Scouting

Detecting late season corn diseases ASAP will help you prioritize fields for harvest. Hybrid maturity and crop residue management should take a backseat to weak stalks. Start by harvesting fields with the weakest stalk to help preserve the quality and quantity of grain that goes into your hopper.

At this time of year, the biggest concerns are stalk rots or fusarium. Warm, moist weather with extended periods of overcast skies and high humidity makes conditions ideal for stalk rot. Later in the season, you might see stalks break or bend below the ear.

Walk fields now and note what you believe is the cause of stalk rot or lodging: fertility, hail, high wind, amount of rainfall, or the genetic predisposition of a hybrid. The cause of stalk rot could affect the seed you purchase or your management practices in 2014. There’s no better time than the present to plan your next crop! Get your seed ordered while the availabilities of all products are at their highest.

Webspec Admin

September 12, 2013

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Disease, Fungicide, General, Insects, Soybeans, Weed Control
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Save Yield by Scouting for Stalk Rot

Warm, moist weather with extended periods of overcast skies and high humidity makes conditions ideal for stalk rot. That’s why it’s so important to continue scouting your fields. Detecting late season corn diseases ASAP will help you access the potential impact and harvest early to preserve the quantity and quality of that grain that goes in your hopper.

Start looking for stalk rot pathogens problems about 30 to 40 days after pollination. Monitor stalk health over the next few weeks, and adjust harvest strategies accordingly to manage fields where stalk lodging may be a big problem. Plants that were damaged by wind and hail earlier in the season are vulnerable to a number of problems that may show up, so it might be necessary to harvest those fields first to prevent stalk lodging or dropped ears.

photo from the ISU Extension

Later in the season, as the plant matures, you might see stalks break or bend below the ear. Many factors can contribute to this situation: fertility, hail, high wind or level of rainfall, as well as the genetic predisposition of certain hybrids. Goss’s Wilt and Gray Leaf Spot may also be contributing factors. Knowing the true cause will help you determine how to better manage stalk rot.

Stalk rots reduce standability. Fields where greater than 10% of plants are affected by stalk rots should be scheduled for an early harvest. The following video shows how to detect stalk rot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c064-2Pd-do&feature=youtu.be

To minimize damage from stalk rot in the future, consider these three best management practices: (1) maintain proper fertility in fields; (2) plant at recommended populations; and (3) rotate crops. It’s important to note stalk strength and the disease package when selecting hybrids. Only those corn hybrids with the toughest defensive package are designated as Latham’s Gladiator^TM products. They’re selected to do battle and win! Talk with your local Latham® representative about Gladiator corn hybrids for your 2014 seed needs.

Webspec Admin

September 5, 2013

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, Fungicide, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Tips to Assess Rootworm Activity

Two months ago I posted a blog, encouraging farmers to scout every field for rootworm. Because of the wide variance in planting dates in 2013, it’s important to continually inspect every field – regardless of seed selection – for insect pressure.

With adult corn rootworm becoming active during silking this year, we highly recommend keeping an eye on fields in order to protect yield. Now it is a good time to assess corn rootworm activity: score injury caused by larvae, and monitor adult activity in corn. Late-planted fields or late-flowering hybrids are generally attractive to adult corn rootworm beetles. Silks will still be developing in these fields when older fields have brown or drying silks. Adults may migrate and aggregate in this later-maturing fields.

Also evaluate root injury to better understand the efficacy of your management program. Monitoring over several years will help establish a historical record of how larvae respond to management tactics (e.g., crop rotation, Bt corn, soil insecticides, etc.). One common outcome of severe larval feeding is lodging of corn plants. However, it is important to confirm that feeding from corn rootworm was the cause of lodging and that it did not results from other factors such as strong winds.

To help assess injury, ISU Entomologist Aaron J. Gassmann developed an Interactive Node Injury Scale. Injury assessment made now and field notes taken will help you select seed products for 2014. To prevent corn rootworm damage from reaching devastating levels, plant a portfolio of products.

Continued use of the same rootworm-resistant trait in corn hybrids, an increase of corn-on-corn areas, plus a lack of refuge acres, has caused rootworm resistance to become an issue in some areas. Best management practices to reduce corn rootworm pressure in the future include: crop rotation, trait rotation and respecting the refuge.

Respecting the refuge just got easier thanks to the EPA last week granting approval of Agrisure Duracade E-Z Refuge trait stacks. New, for 2014 planting, Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids is offering Agrisure Duracade^TM as another option in the fight against corn rootworm.

Farmers have a chance to see Latham’s new 2014 products this Saturday, Aug. 24, when we host the 5^th Annual Latham Freedom of Independence Ride. This year’s ride begins and ends in Lewis & Clark State Park in Onawa. It’s free and open to motorcycles, classic cars and even pickup trucks. For more details, visit our company website lathamseeds.com. Then click on the Freedom Ride icon. Pre-register today, and we’ll see you Saturday on the open road!

Webspec Admin

August 22, 2013

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General, Insects
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Cool, Damp Weather Creates Ideal Conditions for White Mold
White Mold, or Sclerotinia Stem Rot, is becoming evident now in many soybean fields across the Upper Midwest. Like weed seeds, sclerotia can lay dormant for years and then grow when the conditions are suitable. Cooler than normal temperatures, combined with ample moisture in fields, has created a favorable environment for the fungus in recent weeks.

Today we’re providing tips to help you prevent the fungus from spreading this season and remedying it for the future.

White Mold starts to show when soybean plants are in the early reproductive stages and there is moisture in the crop canopy. This usually happens in July and August, but we’re just starting to notice it now since it took longer for soybean crops to reach the reproductive stage due to later planting dates.

In addition to the fluffy white mycelium of the fungus, a closer inspection of the plant will turn up sclerotia. These black, oblong structures resemble rat droppings. Sclerotia form in the center of the bleached plant stem and also develop inside the stem, so they can be easily seen when the stem is split.

Sclerotia are the fungus’ survival structures. Although they are initially soft, sclerotia harden with age and basically encapsulate the fungus. Deep tillage can bring sclerotia to the surface, causing White Mold to be found in areas where it hadn’t been seen for a decade or more.

Preventing the Spread

Because infected soybean plants may not produce seed, a little White Mold can have a big impact on yield. Most likely, you won’t be able to do anything for the plants already infected with the fungus but you can protect the rest of the field. Certain foliar fungicides may be applied when you see White Mold starting to attack, so contact your local Ag Retailer or Crop Consultant for specific recommendations.

There are also Best Management Practices to help prevent White Mold from surfacing in future years. In fields with a history of White Mold, be sure to select soybean seed with resistance to White Mold. Research shows that it also helps to lower the plant population in these fields; avoid planting 200,000 plants per acre regardless of row width.

The most effective defense against White Mold is to keep the fungus out of a field, but this is easier said than done. To prevent White Mold from spreading:
- Avoid harvesting disease-infested fields before harvesting healthy fields
- Clean your combine thoroughly after a field with White Mold is harvested. It’s important to clean the combine before moving to a field with no history of the disease.
- If White Mold is restricted to a portion of the field, that restricted area should be harvested last and independently from the rest of the field.
- If White Mold is already present in a field, keep sclerotia out of the upper layer of the soil, and prevent the sclerotia from distributing over a wider area
Soybeans with very good to excellent White Mold tolerance:

L1568R2
L1783R2
L1868L
L1948R2
L1985R2
L2083L
L2084R2
L2183R2
L21B53R2
L2253R2
L2440R2
L2483R2
L2648R2
L2758R2
L2780R2
L2883L
L3158L
Webspec Admin

August 15, 2013

Agronomics, Crop, Disease, Fungicide, General, Soybeans
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Get the Scoop on Corn Rootworm
Iowa farmers, agronomists, crop consultants and others wanting to get the scoop on corn rootworms are invited to participate in a corn rootworm field day on Thursday, Aug. 8, in Boone, Iowa, at the ISU Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL). There is no attendance fee, but preregistration is required as attendance is limited to 50.

Between 8:00 – 10:00 a.m., ISU Extension specialists will perform tissue testing and do rootworm injury assessments on samples brought in by attendees. Receive one-on-one training on using the corn rootworm injury rating scale, as well as discuss corn rootworm (CRW) management options with ISU specialists.

Even if you don’t attend next week’s field day, it’s a good time to be scouting for rootworm beetles and other insects that are actively feeding on corn silks. If silks are clipped to a length of ½” or less, pollen has a hard time landing on the silks and uneven pollination occurs.

It’s also a good time to conduct root digs. Here are some quick tips for conducting a rootworm dig:
1. You can’t always see feeding unless you actually wash off the roots.
2. Rootworms can have “hot pockets” in the field, so the more locations the better.
3. While you are digging roots, note:
  1. Insect pressure (in particular rootworm beetle feeding)
  2. Disease pressure, paying special attention to the leaves above ear leaf.
  3. Runt plants and uneven emergence.
  4. Make note of root structure after you wash off roots; notice any compacted zones and if there was any sidewall compaction during planting.
  5. Look at plant spacing.
For more information about corn rootworm management, click on the links below:
Webspec Admin

August 1, 2013

Agronomics, General, Insects