Are you using the right closing wheels? Should you tweak soybean planting rates? Does sugar really boost yield? The winter months provide an opportunity to reflect on what agronomic decisions worked in 2017, and Preston Brown, Beck’s seed adviser, says Practical Farm Research provides guidance on whether or not certain products or practices give a return on investment.

“We find the little things you can do to boost your bottom line,” he says, adding that PFR also identifies practices that may hinder yield, like letting nutrient levels drop too low.  

Beck’s started the PFR program in 1964, and in 2017 conducted more than 500 trials in five states. Brown and Jon Skinner, Beck’s agronomist, share a few highlights from the latest Beck’s PFR:

1. Closing wheels matter in less-than-ideal conditions. If you’re working in wet, tight clay conditions, Brown says spiked or uniquely designed closing wheels help close the trench, improve seed-to-soil contact and yield almost 4 bushels per acre more than standard rubber closing wheels. In ideal soil conditions, rubber closing wheels and spiked closing wheels performed fairly equal.

2. Even up root growth with 2-by-2-by-2 starter fertilizer. Roots grow to where the nutrients are in the soil, Skinner explains, which can lead to preferential root growth, or when roots grow to one side. Layering in another side of starter fertilizer helps counteract preferential root growth by placing nutrients on both sides of the furrow.

3. Anhydrous beats UAN and urea at sidedress. Brown says a 160-unit sidedress of anhydrous outyielded UAN by 10 bushels per acre and urea by 9 bushels per acre in central Illinois. Factor in cost, and anhydrous provided a $61-per-acre advantage compared with UAN and a $44-per-acre return-on-investment advantage compared with urea.

4. In-furrow sugar looks promising. Soil microorganisms feed on sugar and instigate mineralization, Skinner says, which makes nutrients readily available for plants. More testing is needed on different sugar forms, he adds, but in-furrow feed-grade dextrose shows the most potential with a 3.5-bushel-per-acre yield increase over the untreated check.

5. Watch P and K levels before they become a problem. Skinner recommends paying close attention to removal numbers and staying ahead of nutrient levels, especially phosphorus and potassium. P levels should never drop below 30 pounds per acre, and K levels, depending on soil cation exchange capacity, should never drop below 200 to 250 pounds per acre.

“That’s when we run into the big problems, and we can’t fix it without a lot of time, money or change in management practices,” he says.

6. Check planting depths early and often. It pays to stop and make sure actual planting depths match up with planned depths, Brown says. Why? Plants that emerged 24 hours later yielded 21 bushels less than their early counterparts. The yield gap between early and late emergers jumped to 85 bushels per acre for seeds planted around June 15 in less-than-ideal conditions.

“Even in late-planting environments, it pays to wait for fit conditions,” Brown says, adding that the ideal planting depth for corn is 2 to 2.5 inches.

In soybeans, Skinner recommends planting seeds at 1.5 inches for optimum nodule development and seed-to-soil contact. He adds that some herbicide labels, like 2, 4-D and PPOs, require a 1.5-inch planting depth.

7. The soybean seeding “sweet spot” is 125,000 seeds per acre. Skinner says the economic optimum seeding rate in soybeans is 100,000 per acre, but he doesn’t recommend dropping rates that low. A rate of 125,000 seeds per acre produced similar yields — around 84 bushels per acre — and the reduction may not be as intimidating. In replant situations, Skinner recommends staying the course when populations are at 65,000 to 70,000 plants per acre. “Early-planted beans with decent spacing and 65,000 populations have a good chance to make yield,” he says.

8. Don’t cut your pre. Brown says a 5-bushel-per-acre yield advantage and less weed problems next season are two good reasons not to cut your preemergence herbicide program in soybeans, even with low crop prices.

9. Spit N applications show a yield advantage. Skinner recommends splitting nitrogen applications and focusing the sidedress application at the V3 growth stage, right before rapid nutrient uptake. “Anytime we can split nitrogen and sidedress in season, we see a distinct advantage — almost $75 per acre in some cases,” he says.

10. Higher corn populations don’t need more N. In all tested row widths and populations, Skinner says 190 units of N was the most economical. “You don’t need to increase your N rate because of higher populations,” he says. “Our end game is the same.”

For complete trial results, visit Beck’s PFR site.