The only time we can say we have 100% yield potential is when we finish planting a field. From there we subtract yield due to MOTHER NATURE, Nutrient Deficiencies, weeds, insects, and diseases. As producers and agronomists it is our job to make sure we keep our potential as close to 100% as we can.
Whenever we spend money on our crop to maintain its full potential, we expect to get some type of return on our investment. The economic return that we receive on our investment, in anything we put in our crop, changes daily with the grain markets. If we look at the current cash corn price for fall delivery, it’s over $6.00 a bushel. It would take less then 4 bushels per acre yield increase to pay for a total fungicide application.
In the last 3-5 years we at Central Valley Coop, have been conducting a lot of research on what effect plant diseases have on our Yield Potential. We have conducted many on farm trials looking at response by hybrid, response by timing, response by product, and response by application type. We have also invested in additional sprayer equipment, allowing us to apply fungicide on tasseled corn with a higher rate of water. On average ground applied fungicides have yielded 5 bushels higher then aerial application.
We feel very confident that when placed in the right situation and the right time, we can achieve an average increase of 12 bushel by using a fungicide at tassel. This year we are continuing our research on V5 fungicide and how it affects yield. Some hybrids have a bigger advantage to a fungicide then others, so we encourage producers to leave check strips so we can evaluate what the response is by hybrid.
Please talk to you local Central Valley Coop Agronomy location on what benefits a fungicide might have on your farm.
