SOIL CONDITIONS AT PLANTING

Soil temps above 50 °F are ideal and the warmer it is the better emergence you can expect. Equally as important, moisture content for the seed to have a chance to imbibe water for germination. The easiest way to determine soil moisture is to grab a handful of soil at the planting depth, make a ball and slide between your thumb and index finger. If it makes a ball, great, if you can ribbon out about 1” of soil then it is perfect. If you ribbon out more or it smears you are going to be too wet and it would be beneficial to wait a day or two.

SEED PLACEMENT

Try to maintain 4 mph to reduce seed bounce and it has been proven that 1 ⅞” planting depth is ideal. No matter what the crown will be initiated ¾” below ground. By planting at 1 ⅞” this allows for maximum nodal root development.

SEED QUALITY

Here at pioneer, we characterize our hybrids based on their ability to emerge in stressful conditions. If you will be planting early you need a stress emergence score of 5 or higher.

RIGHT PRODUCT RIGHT ACRE

Utilizing field planning meetings with the grower we are able to identify the correct hybrid for the right field and planted at the right population based on the conditions. Important items to consider would be soil type, irrigation capacity, what other crops you will be sharing with, end goals such as early harvest, et. As with any plan, it can be adjusted as information changes such as water capacity or upcoming weather events.

POST-PLANTING MANAGEMENT

Planting Report Card – It is always a good idea to visit a field after planting to see how well we did with the 4 objectives above to make adjustments for next planting season. Also, we are able to manage the crop during the current growing season by checking to see how well it was planted and what the emergence looks like. Additional visits during season can help stay ahead of any insect, weed, or disease problems. These visits also are important to manage our water and fertility needs. Finally, a harvest visit can help determine harvest order to maximize efficiency during harvest time.

Emergence Flag Test – An emergence flag test is another way to evaluate how well you did at planting time. It is easy to conduct, once you see plants emerge mark off 1000th of an acre and place a different colored flag each day next to the plants that emerged that day until all plants have emerged. Go back at harvest to evaluate ear size of each day past the first 2 days of emergence. Typically, too fast and to shallow are culprits that can be adjusted in the next planting season to avoid any issues.