Echos of Henry Wallace

Last summer I marveled at the speed of Pioneer's corn research department when it comes to planting plots.  Thanks to technology, they can plant 10 acres of hybrid evaluation plots in a matter of  2-3 hours.  Cathy worked in corn research after graduating from college (and yes dear, that was only yesterday).  It would take them 2 days to plant a similar size location
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The result of the efforts of our corn breeders is reflected in the slide below.  You can see the improvement in average corn yields is also accelerating at an amazing pace.

When smart folks like the founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred, Henry Wallace, began breeding hybrid corn in the 1930's they were starting from scratch.  It was like baking a cake with no recipe, but they did make progress by developing inbred parents which made better hybrids.  This was an amazing discovery for its time.

Corn breeders have built on the foundation that Henry Wallace laid down to take corn hybrid performance to the level it is today.  When you compare modern hybrids to the hybrids from the 30's you can see the improvement in agronomic characteristics like stalk quality and root strength.

Today's skill testing question.  "Is there any point in keeping old corn genetic material around?"  Be honest.  What could possibly be learned from the inbreds and hybrids that were developed 75 years ago?  They are garbage compared to modern corn genetics and we need to keep looking forward.  Right?

Wrong.  Smart forward looking people recognize the need to take a look over their shoulder once in a while.
Pioneer has kept a seed bank of every inbred developed by their corn breeders since Henry Wallace's time.  Now, thanks to technology, researchers have catalogued every gene on every chromosome of this genetic library.  They can go back and pluck useful genes from 75 years ago and incorporate them into today's hybrids.  They do this with things like gene markers and molecular genetics which I will not understand no matter how many times it gets explained to me.

This is a shot depicting the modern hybrid, 38N88, within Pioneer's library of genetics.  Each coloured spot represents an inbred parent.  The male parents are pink and the female parents are blue.  Gene jockeys are weird, I was brought up to think boys are blue.  The pedigree of 38N88 stretches back to Henry Wallace's time.  The specific genes that make 38N88 successful as a hybrid are all catalogued. 

The next generation of hybrids will benefit from this genetic data base. New exciting technologies, like drought tolerance and nitrogen use efficiency will be incorporated into the gene bank. 

The future is bright, thanks to Henry Wallace.

What About Soybeans?

The chart above shows average corn and soybean yields from the US over a 25 year period from 1984 to 2009.  Corn yields increased an average of 1.6% over this period, while soybeans increased 1.27% over the same time.  The slower incremental gain in soybeans has frustrated breeders and agronomists alike.  Some have suggested that soybean yields have suffered because it has been assumed for too long that soybeans are easy to manage.  This hits close to home because I have been known to tell new soybean growers to put the seed in the ground, control the weeds and send in the combine.  Piece of cake, no fuss, no mess.
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The past few years we have started looking at soybeans with a more critical eye because corn is putting more money in our pocket.

What factors should we consider to boost soybean yields?

Planting Date

Corn growers have not been afraid to push planting dates earlier, but there has been general reluctance to do the same with soybeans.  This chart is a summary of 23 site years of data showing the yield advantage to earlier planting dates.  Here in Ontario, April 15 is probably too early, but May 1 is not.  Ealier planting dates work with because the plant will be physically bigger at the end of June when flowering begins.  A bigger plant supports more flower retention and less pod abortion.

Variety Selection and Planting Practices

Variety selection is crtical and must be matched to disease tolerance needs like white mold and phytopthera.  I believe soybean breeders will eventually break through and start delivering greater yield gains with newer genetics.
A common question from clients relates to row width response between varieties.  There is a feeling that shorter varieties belong in narrow rows and tall, bushy varieties are better in wide rows.  Personally, I don't like big tall varieties and I don't like short varieties.  Neither type tends to be very consistent.  A good variety is a good variety, I don't care what row width you use. 

A bigger factor influencing soybean yield response in my opinion, is uniform emergence.  We do in this with corn and we should do the same with soybeans.  Emergence is influenced by seed bed conditions, uniform seeding depth and trash cover. 

Fertility
Soybeans consume a lot of fertility.  A 50 bus soybean crop consumes 45 lbs phosphorous and 65 lbs potash.  A 150 bu corn crop consumes 57 lbs phosphorous and 40 lbs potash.  The problem is soybeans do not respond to starter fertilizer as well as corn does and we tend to neglect fertilizer applications to soybeans, especially on rented crop land.  If your soil test levels are high for both P and K, this neglect will not hurt you.  But, most of us do not have high P and K, so we need to pay closer attention to fertilizer applications for soybeans.

Weed Control
I am appalled when I see growers no-tilling soybeans without early weed control.  This drives me nuts.  KILL THE WEEDS, KILL THEM EARLY.

Inoculants
There are new inoculant products on the market which are worth the money.  We will be using Optimize this spring which we believe will deliver 1-2 bus more than traditional inoculant.   More on this later.

 

Glyphosate Resistance

Weed resistance to glyphosate is a topic that we all need to be mindful of and from my experience a lot of my customers take this question seriously.
Now there is a website that allows us to measure the risk of glyphosate resistance occurring on our farms. 

http://www.weedtool.com/

You answer a list 10 questions about your herbicide management and at the end you see a sliding scale that indicates the relative risk of glyphosate resistance developing using your actual herbicide program.  When I answered the survey it indicated I had low risk of gyphosate resistance happening.  This is not surprising to me because I rotate crops and herbicide families and never rely on glyphosate as a stand alone treatment.  But with any herbicide there is no such thing as no risk.

Check it out.

Show Me The Money

We all like to get the most out of our crops with the most cost effective inputs.  Choosing the right population drop for the right hybrid is an easy way to maximize the return from our corn crop.  Planting a hybrid too thin leaves money on the table by not maximizing the hybrid's yield potential.  Planting a hybrid too thick is a drain on the pocket book because yield may actually drop and too much money is spent on seed. 
Pioneer invests serious research dollars into identifying the appropriate seed drop for each hybrid in the Pioneer lineup.  Customers need access to this information because not all hybrids are the same. 

Pioneer sales reps and Pioneer customers have access to a plant population calculator at http://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/

It is a cool tool that allows you to select the hybrid, input the cash price of corn, the cost of seed and the yield level that is reasonable for your farm.
For today's purpose I have used $5.00 per bushel, the current board price for new crop corn at our local elevator, $2.50 per thousand seed cost and 180 bushel yield environment.  A standard 5% stand loss is factored into the calculation.  I have selected 3 popular Pioneer hybrids that have very different population response curves. 

The chart below belongs to P0118HR.  The red line indicates the highest return as measured by net income on the left vs seed drop on the bottom.

P0118HR



Maximum income per acre is achieved at 31,532 seed drop for P0118HR.

38M58



Maximum income per acre is achieved at 34,995 seed drop for 38M58.

38N88



Maximum income per acre is achieved at 42,000 ????? seed drop.  38N88 is a very unique hybrid that can handle ultra-high populations and continue to produce yield. 

As we can see, not all hybrids are created equal when it comes to plant population.  Check it out.

When What We Believe To Be True????

If you ask 100 agronomists about early spring soil temperature vs soil depth, I would guess 99 of them would say that the closer you get to the soil surface, the warmer the soil temperature.  If you ask 100 farmers the same question, I would guess 90 of them would agree because I tend to think farmers are smarter than agronomists.  Regardless, there would be general agreement that in April, soil will be colder at 2-3" than it is at 1" or 1/2". 
My own random use of a soil temperature probe in April has made me wonder whether this was really true, but I am a believer that corn should be planted at 2" deep, (more on that later) so I did not care what the temperature was like at 1".
As food for thought, along comes a study presented in the Pioneer Agronomy Journal discussing soil temperatures vs soil depth during the months of April and May.

Fascinating stuff.  During the month of April the soil temperature was the same at 2" as it was at the shallower .4".  Could it be that what we believe to be true is false?  The relationship was the same no matter whether the soil was tilled or not.  Tilled soil was slightly warmer than no-tilled which makes sense, but in April the depth made no difference.  It was not until May when the air temperature warmed to 25-28C that the shallow soil began to warm faster.  Why would the soil not be warmer at .4" in April?
Two reasons.  Sunlight intensity and air temperatures are lower in April.  The second reason is the deeper soil acts as "insulation".  In April the soil is usually drying slowly and moisture is migrating up from lower depths.  This water is still cold and it keeps the shallow soil from warming as quickly as we think it should.

Now the practical stuff.  What impact does this have on planting depth decisions when we plant in April?  As I said before I am a firm believer in planting at 2" deep regardless of conditions.  The only time I would go deeper would be in extremely dry seedbeds, but I would never go shallower.  Here's why.



All crop advisers recommend a planting depth for corn at 1.5 to 2 inches for two reasons.  It is easier to maintain good seed to soil contact to allow uniform moisture uptake by all kernels.  The second reason is to support a strong nodal root system which develops at 3/4 of an inch.  The nodal roots develop into the main root structure that absorbs water and nutrients for the entire growing season.  A strong nodal root system is obviously impacted by planting depth.

This clearly shows the nodal roots getting off to a good start.  Note how they start to grow at about 3/4 inch below the soil surface.

The seed on the right which was planted at 1" is going to struggle with nodal root development and will be slow to grow.  As farmers we make more mistakes planting crops too shallow than we do planting them too deep. 
Considering soil temperatures do not support shallow planting in April, we have no excuse not to get our seed into the 2" zone.





Re-Cycled Ideas

A friend and customer asked me a question last week beginning with the preposition "I was looking on the internet".  I had to resist rolling my eyes because that phrase usually leads to a dumb question.  But he continued and asked me what I thought about twin row corn.  This is a concept that has been around my whole career and it seems to re-surface every few years.
The concept is simple enough.  Just modify your standard 30" corn planter to plant two rows instead of one row as shown in the picture below.

The theory behind this is to give each plant more room to capture sunlight because they are not as crowded as they would be if they are all crammed together in one row.  This is to have a more positive yield effect as we increase plant populations. 
(Excuse me for a second while I digress.  I believe this is why the concept keeps getting re-cycled.  When I began my career 28,000 population was considered high, now we are talking 36,000 plants per acre.  At every incremental step over the years, somebody tries to prove the value of twin rows.)

At a plant population of 36,000 the space between plants is 5.8 inches as shown in the schematic diagram below.

Using twin rows 8" apart centered on 30", the interplant spacing for 36,000 poulation is 9.9" to 11.6".  This is almost double the room for each plant in the the twin over the single row.  Common sense tells us this should result in healthier plants and more yield. 

But I know that common sense and corn plants do not always agree, so what does the research tell us? 
Both Pioneer and John Deere looked at this concept in 2010.  They co-operated together on some of the trial locations.  Pioneer likes to sell seed and John Deere likes to sell equipment, so it is reasonable to conclude they would be interested in the concept and it is also reasonable to conclude they would both be interested in a positive research outcome. 
Both companies came to the same conclusion.
In 31 locations across the corn belt in 2010, Pioneer found the overall advantage to 8" twin rows over 30" rows to be negative .7 bu/acre. 
John Deere reviewed the scientific literature on twin rows from 1980 to 2008 and discovered a .7 bu advantage in favour of twin rows.  Hardly a rosy picture for those that believe in the twin row concept.
And as my friend, Peter Johnson, said at the Southwest Ag Conference, "combining twin rows at night, with all those tassles jiggling in front of the cab will make you want to quit farming".
So my friend was not asking a dumb question after all.  It was just a question that has been asked many times before. 



Back to Work

I have been negligent in keeping up with this blog for the past 4 months, but 2011 will be different, I promise. 

January is meeting month in the crop service industry.  Every week there are multiple days devoted to spreading the latest word on crop and business management.
There was the Southwest Ag Conference, the CCA Annual Conference and the Pioneer Agronomy Conference, plus a couple of other Pioneer events.  I learned some new things from all these meetings and have a boatload of knowledge to pass along.

But more importantly this past month has been a memorable month for two other reasons.

I was shocked on January 12 to receive the CCA Award of Excellence for 2010.  It is indeed an honour to be recognized by your peers for your contribution to agriculture.  I must thank my nominator, Pat Lynch for pushing my name forward.  It means I have a responsibility to strive to make myself better and help my customers even more in 2011. 

I also want to recognize the other nominees for the award.

Shannon Bieman from Snobelein Farms, Larry Hale from FS Partners and Bob Thirwell from Dekalb.  These three had very impressive credentials and deserved to win as well.  Just to be included with them is honour enough, to win is unbelievable.

On January 16 a much bigger award was presented.  Brian and his wife April made Cathy and I grandparents for the first time. 

 

Hayden Brian Barker arrived at 7:50 am on Sunday, January 16. 

This beats the CCA award hands down.