Crop News and Notes

Research confirms that there is no relationship between soybean seed size and agronomic performance factors such as seedling vigor and yield. Thus, one method to save on input costs is to seed lots with a high number of seeds per pound (i.e. the most seeds per 50 lb. bag). Of course it isn’t prudent to select varieties on seed size alone and give-up yield potential. However, if given the choice between genetically similar or the same varieties, buy the lot with the smallest seed size. The following table gives the seed cost for planting 200,000 seeds per acre with different seed sizes based on the initial cost per bag.

Seed size (sds/lb)	Price of a 50 lb bag of seed
	$14	$16	$18	$20	$22	$24
	Cost of seed to plant 200,000 seeds/acre
2000	28.00	32.00	36.00	40.00	44.00	48.00
2500	22.40	25.60	28.80	32.00	35.20	38.40
3000	18.67	21.33	24.00	26.67	29.33	32.00
3500	16.00	18.29	20.57	22.86	25.14	27.43
4000	14.00	16.00	18.00	20.00	22.00	24.00

Dry vs. liquid silage inoculants

The question sometimes arises as to whether a liquid silage inoculant is better than a dry form. According to Dr. Rich Muck, USDA Dairy Forage Research Center Ag Engineer, both dry and liquid products can be effective, but liquid application has some advantages over dry application. First, bacteria cannot move around. They grow where they are placed. So inoculants must be applied as uniformly as possible to maximize effectiveness. A liquid sprayed on the crop at the chopper provides the best opportunity to distribute the inoculant uniformly and mix it thoroughly with the crop. Second, the bacteria in a liquid product should be able to begin working faster than a dry product, where the bacteria need to be moistened by plant juices before they can begin to grow. Third, most inoculants need to be kept cool and dry prior to use in order to maintain the activity of the bacteria. This is easiest with the liquid applied products that come in small packages that can be placed in a refrigerator.

There are two issues of concern in using liquid products. First is the water used for diluting the product. If your water supply is chlorinated, the chlorine can kill the lactic acid bacteria if the chlorine level is too high. Use a pool tester to be sure that the chlorine concentration in the water is less than 1 ppm. If it is above 1 ppm, allow the dilution water to sit open to the air overnight to reduce chlorine level, or look for a product that has compounds to take care of the chlorine. Second, once a product has been diluted, it generally needs to be used within a 24-hour period. Some products are diluted the night before use; these should be used within 24 h of when they are ready for application. Consequently, there can be some wastage of product if the amount harvested is less than expected due to weather, breakdowns, etc.

Troubleshooting chisel plow performance

The use of chisel plows has now grown to the point where there are currently more acres plowed with a chisel than a moldboard plow. Although the operation of a chisel plow may seem relatively straight forward, there are problems that can occur. Dick Wolkowski, UW Extension Soil Scientist, provides the following trouble-shooting tips.

Yield boost following fall planted rye crop

UW research has verified a 13 to 15 percent yield increase for field corn following a fall cover crop of winter rye planted after sweet corn. It’s thought that the same yield increase would be seen following silage corn. If this holds true, a fall planted rye cover crop that is killed the next spring would provide the double benefit of soil conservation through fall, winter, and early spring and provide a nice rotation-effect yield boost for a subsequent corn crop.

Planting smaller soybean seed saves money

Dry vs. liquid silage inoculants

Troubleshooting chisel plow performance

Yield boost following fall planted rye crop