We are quickly approaching time to apply your fungicide products. We have a full warehouse of products available including generic fungicide, Aproach Prima, and Veltyma. We have application available through either ground or aerial applicators.
I sent out an update a month or so ago with an estimated VT date around 7/10 or 7/8. Looks like the estimator won’t be too far off. There will be plenty of tassels out by the end of this week which means we are halfway through the season.
We wanted to give you a quick short summary as things will begin changing soon:
VT: Tassel emergence
R1: Silk emergence (the last few years we are skipping VT and going right to R1 with silk emergence prior to tassel emergence and pollen shed).
R2: Blister (this is when we start to see brown silks).
Corn – Fungicide application timing is never a perfect science. Everyone has a different opinion on how to get the best use out of it. Some products like Veltyma talk about spraying when the corn is 5’ tall (they want you out there now). Others like to wait until after pollination. I’ve seen waiting work and I’ve seen waiting not work. I look at it this way – You will get about 21-30 days of protection (depending on the product and the application rate). Currently, we have not found any disease yet, and certainly no levels of pressure worth spraying for. When you spray, the clock starts on your window of protection. If you spray now, your plants will be susceptible to disease again around the 1st of August, more than 45 days away from black layer. When do you need the protection? That depends….
Some products are going to flex in length (easily will abort kernels after pollination), some will flex in depth of kernels (think about the chart we send out each year with kernels per bushel). Some will not flex either time and some will flex both times. We aren’t going to spray one hybrid this week and other one in a month when there isn’t much pressure. Let’s keep an eye on things and be ready to go in a few weeks regardless.
Soybeans – A lot of R2 soybeans out there today – full flowers to the top 4 nodes. This is similar to last year, and timing of fungicide will be once we get closer to R3. The soybeans should start growing again soon after what appeared to be a stall the last couple weeks.
Fungicide in soybeans will come quickly as well – be ready when you see tiny pods forming near the top 4 nodes. The growth stages will be tricky as the plant will continue to grow and add new trifoliates quickly now. What you may think will be R3 in a couple days may take a little longer than you expect with new growth.
Fungicide on soybeans is the highest chance of return based on all the trials done by the on-farm network. We spray fungicide on soybeans every year, and see a response that at least pays for itself every time we check. With commodity prices higher, we again recommend fungicide on soybeans.
GIve us a call and we can discuss options for your needs!