by Mark Grundmeier, Soybean Product Manager
Recently, Iowa State University Extension Entomologist Dr. Erin Hodgson delivered a presentation about the spread in 2020 of Soybean Gall Midge (SGM) to 19 more counties across five Midwestern states.
To recap, SGM was identified in 2011 in soybean fields in eastern Nebraska. Then in 2015 and 2016, it was discovered in South Dakota and Iowa, respectively. Widespread damage from SGM wasn’t noted until 2018, and also that year SGM was found in Minnesota. In 2019, SGM was found in Missouri. The scientific name of Soybean Gall Midge is Resseliella maxima.
Scouting for this pest can be very difficult as it is only about 1/10 of an inch long. Focus on the edges of soybean fields, beginning in those areas where you may have seen SGM damage the previous year. Look in your earliest planted soybean fields that are at the V3 stage or later for wilted plants that at first glance look like a disease problem. Then carefully check the base of the plant, giving a slight push to the plant base to see if it will snap off. If it does, split the base of the plant with a knife and look for the orange or white larvae. If you find Soybean Gall Midge, please report this to your local Extension Agronomist. Extension personnel are very interested in tracking the spread of this significant new pest.
Because farmers in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota have been sharing their findings of SGM, Dr. Hodgson said she and her colleagues are making observations on the insect’s life cycle. Eggs are laid in soybean fields at from 2 to 4 inches deep. These eggs overwinter and emerge as adults the following year, flying into nearby soybean fields that are at that V3 stage or later where they will mate and lay eggs in soybean plants that have a wound or opening. These eggs hatch inside the plant with a total of three instars that will develop and feed on the inside of the plant. The third instar will be the largest and will usually be orange in color. These will eventually drop off the plant and burrow into the soil to later hatch and produce adults. This entire life cycle can take just 28 to 32 days.
Managing Soybean Gall Midge has proven to be very difficult as the larva are well protected by the plant and the presence of adults is extremely widespread through out the growing season. One researcher in Nebraska noted that adults could be found anytime between six and eight weeks in fields. While insecticides will easily control SGM adults, the timing of application over that period would be costly and tedious.
If you farm in the Missouri River area, please watch closely for Soybean Gall Midge and report your findings to your local Extension personnel. I would also appreciate a “heads up,” so I can make some observations of my own.
It was a beautiful, extended fall season, giving us ample time to finish tillage, fertilizer applications, tilling and other field work. Our machinery was strategically tucked away in the shed before the snow fell. Speaking of strategic placement…
Is your planter all the way in the back of the shed because you aren’t planning to touch it until March? Now is actually a good time to start thinking about your planter. New technology allows us to make our existing planter as good as – if not better than – the brand new planter on the lot at the implement dealership. One perk of working with us at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is using our Data ForwardSM services to help you make some unbiased decisions. Perhaps you weren’t happy with the way your corn was spaced in 2020 or maybe you noticed uneven emergence last spring. We can help you determine why this happened and fix these issues before going into 2021 planting season.
If you attended a plot tour last summer or listened online to our Corn Product Manager Lyle Marcus, you know he emphasized the importance of planting depth. It can be difficult to stay consistent across the field; controlling planter speed is one of the simplest ways to achieve optimum seed placement. We can review planter speed. We also can explore technology options for your planter, so you can monitor and control variabilities throughout a field.
Another factor to consider is planting depth. Oftentimes, we say 2.75 inches is a safe planting depth to allow adequate moisture and growing degree units (GDUs) to attain even emergence.
There is a lot of talk around two-inch planting depths. This could be optimal if there is adequate moisture. Planting at 2 inches with adequate moisture can get you better emergence due to having faster GDU adaptation. This also means that it could come out of the ground better in crusting conditions, but keep in mind that the key to shallower planting is moisture. It’s risky to rely on moisture being available at that shallower depth.
We spend a lot of time helping our Data Forward clients improve efficiency. While this can encompass many things, we focus on your planter, seed and equipment. We believe one of the most important assets to a farmer’s operation is the planter. If the planter is not equipped to place that seed where it is going to thrive, then other investments throughout the year are not going to be as valuable either.
One of our biggest challenges is helping clients achieve uniform, speedy emergence. If one plant emerges 24 to 48 hours after its neighbor, that plant will compete for the sunlight that its neighbor is already harvesting. The plant starving for sunlight will be a runt for the rest of the growing season.
Keep these four things in mind when trying to keep even heat and moisture to achieve even emergence:
If you want to improve efficiency, planter performance, and data management for 2021, it’s time to plan. Call your Latham Precision Agronomy Advisors now for unbiased recommendations to get your 2021 crop off to a better start!
Join us as we discuss the importance of protecting your investment every year. How does Latham Seeds seed treatment differentiate? Tune in and find out!
Did you know up to 90% of seedling diseases are caused by 4 major fungi? These fungi kill soybean seedlings before emergence or damage the seed enough to reduce yield.
4 Major Fungi:
Research shows that during the emergence stage alone 2.5 bushels of soybean yield are at risk due to seed rot and seedling blight. Latham SoyShield® brand seed treatments are best-in-class formulations designed to battle the toughest pathogens like Fusarium and Phytophthora.
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 SoyShieldTM, a fungicide-only package, and SoyShield PlusTM 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 us at 1-877-GO-LATHAM (1-877-465-2842).
Yield variability in 2020 reminds us how important it is to review data from multiple years – and even multiple locations – when accessing a given seed product’s performance. Multi-year data helps “smooth out” the peaks and valleys associated with single-year data and provides a more reliable picture of overall product performance.
Following are nine Latham® soybean products, in order of maturity, that grabbed my attention as I was preparing for 2020 Post-Harvest Huddles with our dealers:
L 0852 LLGT27: New for 2021, this powerhouse yielder carries the Rps3-a gene for Phytophthora and has very good tolerance to iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC). This variety earned six Top 10 finishes in the 2020 F.I.R.S.T. trials; took first in 2019 Latham Test 909 Summary; placed first in our 2020 Test 960 trial at Glyndon, MN; and was 2nd overall in the 2020 Summary of Test 960!
L 1238 L: This top-yielding Ironclad™ soybean features excellent scores for both White Mold and Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). It took 1st place in our 2018 Test 961 Summary and had four other 1st place finishes in Latham Trials from 2018 to 2020. It moves south very well out of zone.
L 1429 LLGT27: Here’s a great yielding line with a good defensive package! It has strong Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) tolerance and is excellent against IDC and Brown Stem Rot (BSR). In 2019 and 2020, it earned five Top 10 finishes in the F.I.R.S.T. trials along with four wins in Latham SuperStrip plots. It also placed 1st six times in our research trials, including two summaries!
L 1858 R2: This is one of the very highest performing lines in our Latham soybean portfolio. Every year since 2018 it has topped a F.I.R.S.T. Trials SUMMARY somewhere in the state of Minnesota! Enough said.
L 1883 L: This Ironclad line has excellent tolerance to White Mold and SDS with great tolerance to Charcoal Rot. It has six 1st place finishes under its belt from 2018 to 2020 SuperStrip trials. It consistently performs at the top of its class.
L 2193 E3: Our top-selling soybean for the past two years looks to be headed there again in 2021! With only two years of SuperStrip data, this Ironclad variety has claimed: eight 1st places, eight 2nd places and six 3rd place finishes. That’s a gold-worthy Win-Place-Show combo!
L 2295 R2X: With a very strong defensive package, this soybean variety is a proven performer! It has 22 Top 10 finishes in the F.I.R.S.T. Trials and 37 Top Four finishes in Latham SuperStrips – including 13 wins – during the past three years.
L 2549 R2X: If you think L 2295 is impressive, get a load of this offensive powerhouse! In the 2018 to 2020 F.I.R.S.T. Trials, 2549 captured 41 Top 10 placements with six of those being for 1st place and nine for 2nd place! It has also won five SuperStrip plots. It has L 2084 R2 and L 2440 R2 in its pedigree with a strong defensive package.
L 2894 E3: In its first year of F.I.R.S.T. Trials, this popular Enlist E3 line took 1st place twice and earned seven more Top 10 finishes. In 2019 to 2020, it took 1st in six SuperStrip plots and topped our Latham Research Trials in both Alexander and Olin, Iowa.
For more multi-year yield data, visit our performance page!
John Latham for the first #MadetoWin video of the harvest season! John will discuss the recent XtendFlex approval, preview Latham seed quality for next year and discuss products that are winning in the field throughout Latham Country!
Join us for the second #MadetoWin update with John Latham! John highlights products performing well throughout Latham Country. #LathamSeeds
Join us for week 3 of our #MadetoWin video series! John Latham covers his Power 10 hybrids based on yield results. Tune in the learn more! #LathamSeeds
Join us with John Latham! John discusses his Power 10 soybean varieties covering our entire marketing territory. Tune in to learn more! #LathamSeeds
Join John Latham for this week’s #MadetoWin video series! John will discuss our 2020 F.I.R.S.T. Trial winners. #LathamSeeds
John highlights our top 10 products based on F.I.R.S.T. trial wins. #LathamSeeds
John Latham talks soybeans! Tune in to hear a run down of the multiple F.I.R.S.T. Trial soybean wins throughout Latham Country! #MadetoWin #LathamSeeds
Join us for the final episode of our #MadetoWin series with John Latham! John discusses our new XtendFlex options and what it means for farmers across Latham country. #LathamSeeds
Join us on November 12 at 8 AM as we discuss the conclusion of the 2020 harvest season and begin planning for 2021. We will share three different scenarios to help you select the right products for your acres. #AskTheAgronomist
Soybean Cyst Nematode, Iron Deficiency Chlorosis, Phytophthora Root Rot and Sudden Death Syndrome are just a few of the pests, diseases and agronomic issues that have contributed to lower yields and higher costs. Farmers, who needed protection against these agronomic issues, were hesitant to plant defensive soybean lines in fear of giving up yield.
Then in the late 1990s soybean breeding techniques were developed that could quickly identify cultivars that had sound defensive traits and were high yielding.
In 2011, Bill Latham, then head of Latham’s Research program, challenged our Soybean Product Team to find an idea or a concept that would help change the way farmers felt about defensive soybean products. Bill, an ex-Marine aviator, was a military history buff as were several other members of our team at that time. We remembered back to the pre-Civil War era when naval warships were made almost exclusively out of wood. Offensive firepower from these ships was quickly outmatching their wooden defense. Innovators at the time were quick to experiment with using iron plates over the wooden sides. Hence, the term “Ironclad” was born.
The first ever battle between two ironclads took place in 1862. The Monitor was the Union warship. The Confederacy had captured the Union ship Merrimack, plated it with iron, and renamed it the CSS Virginia. However, the battle has gone down in history as the Monitor versus the Merrimack. Although both sides claimed a victory, in essence it was a draw as neither ship could sink the other. It did, however, dramatically change the course of naval warfare. From that battle on, navies all over the globe began using metal plates over wood and eventually made their ships completely out of metal!
Back to 2011… After much discussion, it was decided to use the designation of IRONCLAD™ for Latham brand soybeans that had a resistance gene for Soybean Cyst Nematode, a gene for Phytophthora Root Rot and scores of 2.2 or better (on a scale of 1-5) against Brown Stem Rot, Iron Deficiency Chlorosis and either White Mold or Sudden Death Syndrome.
Latham’s first IRONCLAD soybeans were introduced in our 2013 Product Guide. It was quickly evident that these defensive traits were exactly what farmers in Latham Country needed to protect yield and increase profitability.
It should be noted here that since the start of our Ironclad program, we have never had a #1 selling soybean that was NOT an IRONCLAD! Additionally, our 2021 Product Guide features 28 Ironclad soybeans out of the total 56 we have listed. That’s truly an amazing advancement during a short eight-year period of time!
