2019
Does Early Planting Date Justify Fungicidal Seed Treatment in Soybeans?
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Crop protectionDiseaseField management
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Rachel Vann, North Carolina State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
19-082
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Institution Funded:
Brief Project Summary:

Some North Carolina producers are starting to shift soybean planting earlier into the spring due to success with early maturing soybean varieties. Most of the fungicide seed treatment work conducted by the Soybean Extension Program has been done with soybeans planted from mid-May through mid-June. How would our results differ when considering planting soybeans earlier in the season? This research seeks to answer this question. It evaluates fungicidal soybean seed treatments across four planting dates ranging from early April through mid-May. Economic analyses consider both fungicidal seed treatment cost and impact on soybean yield.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, extension agents

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

Final Project Results

The goals of this project are to determine whether planting date affects the necessity of a fungicidal seed treatment in soybeans and identify the most effective fungicidal seed treatment in early planting situations. In 2019, research was conducted at three NC locations (Beaufort, Sampson, and Yadkin Counties) to answer these questions. We compared three soybean planting dates (late March, mid-April, mid-May) across three soybean maturity groups (III, IV, V). We compared five fungicidal seed treatments to an untreated control within each planting date and maturity group combination.

A fungicidal seed treatment protected stand at two of the three 2019 locations across planting dates and maturity groups; the impact was similar across fungicidal seed treatments. In both locations where soybean yield was harvested, the use of a fungicidal seed treatment protected yield (+5.9-6.9 bu/A) across planting date and maturity groups. If you broke down impact on soybean yield by planting date was broken down, there was a 9.1, 5.9, and 2.4 bu/A yield protection from the use of a fungicidal seed treatment at the March, April, and May planting dates, respectively. Soybean yield was impacted similarly by all fungicidal seed treatments evaluated

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.