Always Learning

 

Pioneer has released it's 2012 Agronomy Sciences Research Summary.  Information for the guide is gathered from across North America.  There are 47 pages of agronomy gold in it.

 

Some of the articles I found most interesting:

 

1) Stress Emergence in Corn. 

     The optimal temperature for corn emergence is in the range of 80-90F  When a dry seed imbibes (takes on) cold water 50F or below, there is an increase in seed death and abnormalities.  A seed will imbibe most of the water it needs for germination within the first 30 minutes it is exposed to moisture.  Therefor, even if you plant the seed into cool dry soil and it turns cold and wet 5 days later, there will still be more emergence stress response than if the seed has a chance to imbibe warmer water for a few hours and then it turns cold.

   

2) Optimizing Corn Seeding Rates

     Since 2008 the % of acres in North America with seeding rates above 33,000 seed/ac has gone from 19% to almost 35% in 2012.  Pioneer continues to do extensive work with their hybrids to determine the most economic planting rate (MEPR) by hybrid.  This work includes an evaluation of different yield potentials.  For example, the MEPR for 38N94 in a 150bus/ac or less environment is 32,900seed/ac while in a 150-200bus/ac environment the MEPR is 36,000.  You can find the Seeding rate calculator on the Pioneer website or you can now download an App as well.

 

3) Variation in Corn Yield Across Planter Width.

     As planters get larger, Pioneer has started to study the effect of width on corn yield across the rows.  Trials in Minnesota found that the average corn yield on the outside wing were significantly greater than those from the centre by an average of 11.3 bus.  This yield difference is a function of the compaction caused by the wheel traffic.  Why this is important to consider is when planning side by sides or plots with large planters, steps need to be taken to ensure that the results are not unfairly biased due to the differential impact of wheel traffic among the rows.

 

This is just a sampling of the 24 articles found in the Agronomy guide.  If you are interested in a copy, pleased let me know.