Don’t Skip on Fungicides This Spring
Growers are looking to cut production costs wherever they can, but agronomists warn that this is not the year to cut fungicides. Compared to the last two years, this spring has not been especially wet. But, even with good soil conditions, Carl Joern said including a fungicide in your seed treatment is still a good idea, especially if you are planting soybeans.
“It takes a while for these soybeans to emerge out of the ground, especially when we are talking about these cool spring temperatures,” he stated. “It could be up to 150 GDUs and may have those seeds sitting in the ground for as long as 3 weeks. So, I would not try and cut corners and not include a fungicide in your seed treatment. We want to do all we can to protect that seed investment.”
Some areas of Indiana did catch some rain this week. Joern said, in those areas, taking time for a good dry down is a good idea, ”We still have plenty of time; so, if the ground is still a bit tacky, it is okay to wait a little longer. I would rather be a little later in the calendar and plant into perfect soil conditions.” He added that good stand establishment and seed emergence will result if conditions are good.