ST. LOUIS, MO (May 20, 2010) – In Tom Bean, TX, Mike and Pat Fallon planted soybeans for the first time in a field that turned out to have a lot of disease pressure from Pythium and Rhizoctonia. The field was divided between Asgrow® Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans treated with Acceleron™ soybean seed treatment products and Roundup Ready® soybeans treated with Cruiser® plus Apron®. Soybeans treated with Acceleron™ soybean seed treatment products handled the pressure and grew into to a good stand. The other soybeans had to be destroyed, according to Mike Fallon.
“We had several experts come out and look at the field and they said it was one of the worst cases of disease damage they had seen,” he said. “They said the Pythium opened the door for Rhizoctonia, which killed the soybeans. Now we know Acceleron soybean seed treatment products control these diseases in soybeans. It did a good job and made us firm believers in using a premium seed treatment when planting soybeans. Acceleron soybean seed treatment products are a good option that we will look at using next season.”
The Fallons are just some of the hundreds of farmers who have the early-season advantage offered by Acceleron soybean seed treatment products from Monsanto.
Acceleron soybean seed treatment products help protect the high-end yield potential that Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans offer by protecting seedlings from seed-borne and soil-borne diseases such as Phytophthora, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Pythium. These diseases can damage plant stands and impact vigor. Acceleron soybean seed treatment products also protect young plants from early-season insect pests such as seedcorn maggots and over-wintering bean leaf beetles.
“Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans treated with Acceleron soybean seed treatment products show excellent early season vigor and uniform emergence,” explains Aaron Robinson, Monsanto’s technical development manager for Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans. “The crop growth rate is improved and that helps maximize the yield potential in soybeans. You want plants to canopy over the rows as soon as possible to increase light interception and canopy photosynthesis, which can lead to more main-stem nodes, earlier flowering and a longer reproductive period.”
A 2009 Monsanto study showed Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans had more main stem nodes than Roundup Ready® soybeans. More nodes means there are more potential places for flowers on the plant. Flowers turn into soybean pods and more pods can turn into higher yield potential.
The study also showed that Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans treated with Acceleron soybean seed treatment products have more root mass. Plants were dug up and compared to both untreated Roundup Ready® soybeans and Roundup Ready soybeans treated with competitor seed treatments. A larger root mass allows plants to seek out available water and nutrients and withstand moisture stress during the critical reproductive stages of flowering and pod fill.
A wet fall, melting winter snowpack and lingering El Niño affects have created abnormally wet and cool spring conditions for much of the nation’s major soybean growing areas. Acceleron soybean seed treatment products get soybeans off to a faster, stronger start, regardless of weather conditions.
“Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans treated with Acceleron soybean seed treatment products have an advantage in stressed situations,” Robinson said. “Acceleron soybean seed treatment products protect seedlings from disease and insect pressure and promote overall plant health, which allow Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans to maximize crop growth rate and canopy development, leading to increased flowering and development of large, healthy root systems. All of these are keys to maximizing soybean yield potential.”
Acceleron soybean seed treatment products are designed to complement elite seed genetics and Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans to help maximize the performance potential beginning at planting. To learn more go to www.acceleronsts.com.
