Volume 21 Number University of Wisconsin Crop Manager May 1, 2014

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1 Volume 21 Number University of Wisconsin Crop Manager May 1, 2014 Crops Economic Risk and Profitability of Soybean Seed Treatments at Reduced Seeding Rates... Attached Vegetable Crop Update 4/28/ UW Crop Diagnostic Training Center Workshops for Plant Disease Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic (PDDC) Update Vegetable Crop Update 4/28/14 The third issue of the Vegetable Crop Update is now available. This issue contains information on early season hops, considerations for organic late blight control in potato and tomato, and an advertisement for an upcoming high tunnel workshop. To view this newsletter click here. UW Crop Diagnostic Training Center Workshops for 2014 Registration is open for UW-Madison Integrated Pest Management Program s two Crop Diagnostic Training Center workshops for The Diagnostic Troubleshooting Workshop will be held July 15, The Crop & Pest Management Workshop will be held August 5, FAST and easy ONLINE registration by credit card: Both workshops will be hosted at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. Be aware that this is not a traditional field day. These training sessions are designed to be primarily infield and hands-on. We advise that attendees come prepared to be in the field and ready for all types of weather. CCA CEU s are available as listed, but are subject to change pending approval from the Certified Crop Advisor Program. Contact Dan Heider at , or djheider@wisc.edu Diagnostic Troubleshooting Workshop Date: July 15, 2014 Location: Arlington Ag Research Station CCA CEU s: 4.0 Tiered fee: $75 before 7/1/11, $90 after 7/1/11 Topics Covered: This Workshop gives you the opportunity to fine tune your crop diagnostic skills in a fun and interactive setting. Small groups will rotate through field problems with UW Specialists role-playing as farmers. Through digging up plants, asking questions and consulting references participants will make a diagnosis of the problem being observed and a recommendation for correction. Each participant will experience 8 separate diagnostic scenarios. Tuesday July 15, :00-9:20 registration 9:20-9:30 introduction/orientation 9:30-12:00 sessions :00-12:45 lunch (provided) 12:45-2:15 sessions 6-8 Crop & Pest Management Workshop Date: August 5, 2014 Location: Arlington Ag Research Station CCA CEU s: 0.5 Crop Management, 3.5 Pest Management, 1.0 Nutrient Management Tiered fee: $75 before 7/25/14, $90 after 7/25/14 A multi-disciplinary and in-depth workshop covering agronomic concerns ranging from identification of crop and pest production problems to management options within production systems. Tuesday August 5, :30-8:50 registration 8:50-9:00 introduction/orientation 9:00-12:00 sessions :00-12:45 lunch (provided) 12:45-2:45 sessions 4-5 Topics Covered: Nutrient uptake and partitioning in soybean Shawn Conley, Extension Soybean and Small Grains Specialist Soybean nutrient requirements change with developmental stage 27

2 Learn to understand these nutrient requirements and their effects on the growth and development of high yielding soybeans Herbicide Mode of Action Vince Davis, Extension Weed Specialist Understanding herbicide mode of action is critical to developing effective resistance management strategies Plant/Sample Type, Disease/Disorder, Pathogen, County SOIL, Soybean Soil, Soybean Cyst Nematode, Heterodera glycines, Dane, Iowa, Richland For additional information on plant diseases and their control, visit the PDDC website at pddc.wisc.edu. This session will emphasize herbicides and emerging crop technologies, their use and resistance management strategies Follow us on The trait game Bryan Jensen, UW Integrated Pest Management Specialist This session begins with a brief discussion on the biology and current management problems of Bt resistant western corn rootworm Learn to evaluate multiple corn rootworm management strategies for their efficacy and effectiveness in delaying the development of resistance SCN / SDS Interaction Damon Smith, Extension Plant Pathology Specialist Soybean cyst nematode and sudden death syndrome are both major yield limiting problems in soybean Learn to recognize/diagnose crop symptoms and discover where current research is on interactions between SCN and the SDS causing fungus Spray drift mitigation in crop pest management Daniel Heider, UW Integrated Pest Management Specialist Drift reduction has made great strides, but new emerging herbicide resistant technologies will require you to remain vigilant on drift Evaluate nozzles and other drift reduction technology in a field setting to better understand drift and how to manage it To view the flyer for this event scroll down to the end of this newsletter. Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic (PDDC) Update Brian Hudelson, Ann Joy, Erin DeWinter and Joyce Wu, Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic The PDDC receives samples of many plant and soil samples from around the state. The following diseases/disorders have been identified at the PDDC from April 19, 2014 through April 25,

3 Economic Risk and Profitability of Soybean Seed Treatments at Reduced Seeding Rates Adam P Gaspar, Shawn P Conley and John Gaska, Department of Agronomy and Paul Mitchell, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison The graduate fellowship for this project was sposored by Syngenta Crop Protection. Introduction Earlier soybean planting coupled with increasing seed costs and higher commodity prices have led to a surge in the number of acres planted with seed treatments (Esker and Conley, 2012). Furthermore, the components and relative cost of various soybean seed treatments has broadened greatly. Recent studies have suggested that growers should consider lowering seeding rates to increase their return on investment (De Bruin and Pedersen, 2008; Epler and Staggenborg, 2008). This recommendation is attributed to the soybean plant s potential compensatory ability at lower plant populations. Ultimately, growers would like to know the value proposition of combining seed treatments with lowered seeding rates. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to: Quantify the effects of seed treatments and seeding rates on soybean yield. Assess the economic risk and profitability of seed treatments and seeding rates, including calculating economically optimal seeding rate (EOSR) for each seed treatment. ApronMaxx RFC and CruiserMaxx (Syngenta Crop Protection) seed treatments were used to achieve these objectives because they differ in their components and relative cost per unit. This study was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at nine Wisconsin locations. All locations were planted in 15 inch rows within the first 3 weeks of May. Effects on Soybean Yield When pooled over all seed treatments, the highest seeding rate (140,000 seeds/a) yielded 64 bu/a, which was significantly higher than all other seeding rates, except 120,000 seeds/a. ApronMaxx showed no improvements in yield at any seeding rate compared to the untreated control (UTC), while CruiserMaxx provided increased yields at all seeding rates (Figure 1). CruiserMaxx showed a trend of larger yield increases as the seeding rate was lowered. We observed a 4% and 12% yield increase at 140,000 and 40,000 seeds/a, respectively, over ApronMaxx and the UTC (Figure 1). Figure 1. Yield (bu/a) of the three seed treatments across all seeding rates Yield (bu/a) UTC ApronMaxx CruiserMaxx Seeding Rate (1,000 seeds/a)

4 Profitability and Economic Risk Partial profit was calculated as follows: (Yield x Grain Sale Price) (Seed + Seed treatment cost). CruiserMaxx increased profit at each grain sale price and across all seeding rates compared to ApronMaxx and the UTC (Figure 2). Again, no differences were observed between ApronMaxx and the UTC (Figure 2). The economically optimal seeding rates (EOSR), or the high point on the profit curves, for the three seed treatments and two grain sale prices are displayed at the bottom of Tables 1 and 2. Economic risk was applied to the profit curves (Figure 2), where risk is measured as the break even probability (the probability of breaking even relative to the base case of UTC at 140,000 seeds/a), and displayed in Tables 1 and 2 for soybean grain sale prices of $9 and $12/bu, respectively. For example, in Table 1, CruiserMaxx at 140,000 seeds/a had a 0.71 (71% chance) probability of increasing profit over the base case and on average for all (all environments), increased profit by $10/a. In addition, an average $18/a increase was observed for the positive and an average $11/a decrease for negative. The positive column represents responsive environments while the negative column represents non-responsive environments. At a grain sale price of $9/bu (Table 1), ApronMaxx and the UTC obtained break-even probabilities >0.50 at seeding rates of 100,000 and 120,000 seeds/a. However, the average profit increases for all was minimal (<$3/a). At this grain sale price, UTC at 120,000 seeds/a had the lowest risk (0.91) of any treatment combination in Table 1, but again provided a relatively low average profit increase for all ($3/a). Using seeding rates below 100,000 seeds/a was very risky for ApronMaxx and the UTC; showing break-even probabilities <0.50 and negative average profit increase for all. CruiserMaxx produced break-even probabilities >0.50 for all seeding rates except at 40,000 seeds/a and the average profit increase for all was >$17/a at seeding rate between 80,000 and 120,000 seeds/a. Furthermore, the lowest risk (0.89) and largest average profit increase for all ($20/a) with Cruiser- Maxx was at its EOSR (94,000 seeds/a). Figure 2. Partial profit per acre of the three seed treatments across all seeding rates Partial Profit ($/a) UTC ($50/unit) ApronMaxx ($55/unit) CruiserMaxx ($62/unit) Partial Profit ($/a) UTC ($50/unit) ApronMaxx ($55/unit) CruiserMaxx ($62/unit) Seeding Rate (1,000 seeds/a) Seeding Rate (1,000 seeds/a) grain sale price of $9/bu grain sale price of $12/bu 2

5 When the grain sale price was increased to $12/bu (Table 2), ApronMaxx and the UTC required higher seeding rates (>120,000 seeds/a) to achieve break-even probabilities >0.50. Furthermore, we again saw trivial average profit increases for all (<$2/a) with ApronMaxx and the UTC. The lowest risk ApronMaxx treatment combination (0.52) was at its EOSR. However, this only attained a $1/a average profit increase for all and a wide range of possibilities existed when accounting for the average positive ($19/a) and negative (-$18/a). CruiserMaxx showed relatively high break-even probabilities (>0.76) for seeding rates between 80,000 and 140,000 seeds/a, with the lowest risk (0.87) and largest average profit increase for all ($25/a) at its EOSR (100,500 seeds/a). grain sale price of $9/bu Table 1. Seeding rate by seed treatment economic risk table for all locations with a grain sale price of $9/bu. Treatment combination 1 Average profit increase over base case 3 Seed treatment Seeding rate Break-even probability 2 Positive All Negative (seeds/acre) ($/acre) UTC 120, , , , , na ApronMaxx 140, , , , , , na CruiserMaxx 140, , , , , , ECONOMICALLY OPTIMAL SEEDING RATES (EOSR) UTC 111, ApronMaxx 111, CruiserMaxx 94, Treatment combination includes all possible seed treatment and seeding rate combinations for comparison to the base case. 2 Break-even probability is the probability a treatment combination will at least provide the same profit/acre as the base case. 3 Base case is untreated seed at 140,000 seeds/acre. 4 na, no are possible. 3

6 grain sale price of $12/bu Table 2. Seeding rate by seed treatment economic risk table for all locations with a grain sale price of $12/bu. Treatment combination 1 Average profit increase over base case 3 Seed treatment Seeding rate Break-even probability 2 Positive All Negative (seeds/acre) ($/acre) UTC 120, , , , , na ApronMaxx 140, , , , , , na CruiserMaxx 140, , , , , , ECONOMICALLY OPTIMAL SEEDING RATES (EOSR) UTC 119, ApronMaxx 119, CruiserMaxx 100, Treatment combination includes all possible seed treatment and seeding rate combinations for comparison to the base case. 2 Break-even probability is the probability a treatment combination will at least provide the same profit/acre as the base case. 3 Base case is untreated seed at 140,000 seeds/acre. 4 na, no are possible. References De Bruin, J.L. and P. Pedersen Soybean seed yield response to planting date and seeding rate in the upper Midwest. Agron. J. 100: Epler, M. and S. Staggenborg Soybean yield and yield component response to plant density in narrow row systems. Online. Crop Management doi: / CM RS. Esker, P. and S.P. Conley Probability of yield response and breaking-even for soybean seed treatments. Crop Sci: 52: Conclusion & Recommendations Our study found differences in yield, profitability and economic risk due to seed treatment and seeding rate. Growers should account for their expected grain sale price and seed treatment use when determining their seeding rate and additionally, the components of the seed treatment should be considered. We found that reducing seeding rates when using no seed treatment or a fungicide only seed treatment (ApronMaxx) may be too risky and provided minimal profit gains. In contrast, this study also showed that a fungicide/insecticide seed treatment (CruiserMaxx) reduced economic risk and increased profit across an array of environments, seeding rates (80, ,000 seeds/a), and grain sale prices ($9/bu and $12/bu). Furthermore, to realize the lowest risk and highest profit increase with CruiserMaxx, producers should consider lowering their seeding rates to the EOSR according to their expected grain sale price. The EOSR for CruiserMaxx ranged from 94,000 to 101,000 seeds/a and was on average, 16% (18,000 seeds/a) less than ApronMaxx and the UTC across grain sale prices of $9/bu and $12/bu. 4

7 Crop Diagnostic Training Workshops 2014 UW-Madison Integrated Pest Management Program Diagnostic Troubleshooting Workshop July 15, 2014, Arlington Ag Research Station CCA CEU s: 4.0 Tiered fee: $75 before 7/1/11, $90 after 7/1/11 9:00 Registration and introduction 12:00 Lunch (provided) 2:15 Adjourn This Workshop gives you the opportunity to fine tune your crop diagnostic skills in a fun and interactive setting. Small groups will rotate through field problems with UW Specialists role playing as farmers. Through digging up plants, asking questions and consulting references participants will make a diagnosis of the problem being observed and a recommendation for correction. Each participant will experience 8 separate diagnostic scenarios. Crop & Pest Management Workshop August 5, 2014, Arlington Ag Research Station CCA CEU s: 0.5 Crop, 3.5 Pest, 1.0 Nutrient Management Tiered fee: $75 before 7/25/14, $90 after 7/25/14 8:30 Registration and introduction 12:00 Lunch (provided) 2:45 Adjourn This workshop will cover agronomic concerns ranging from identification of crop and pest production problems to management options within production systems. Nutrient uptake and partitioning in soybean - Shawn Conley, Extension Soybean and Small Grains Specialist Soybean nutrient requirements effects on the growth and development of high yielding soybeans Herbicide Mode of Action - Vince Davis, Extension Weed Specialist Herbicide mode of action and emerging crop technologies; their use and resistance management strategies The trait game - Bryan Jensen, UW Integrated Pest Management Specialist Management strategies for Bt resistant western corn rootworm; their efficacy and effectiveness in delaying the development of resistance SCN / SDS Interaction - Damon Smith, Extension Plant Pathology Specialist Soybean cyst nematode and sudden death syndrome symptoms; current research on interactions between SCN and the SDS causing fungus Spray drift mitigation in crop pest management - Daniel Heider, UW Integrated Pest Management Specialist Drift reduction, emerging herbicide resistant technologies, nozzles and other drift reduction technology in field settings Both workshops begin in the Public Events Facility of the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. Be aware that this is not a traditional field day. Training sessions are designed to be primarily in-field and hands-on. We advise that you come prepared for all types of weather. FAST and easy ONLINE registration by credit card: Contact: Dan Heider, , djheider@wisc.edu CCA CEU s are subject to change pending approval from the Certified Crop Advisor Program.