Stand Problems & Achieving Uniform Plant Stands

The R7 Placement Strategy is how we approach each season when we are developing a crop plan for the year. Part of getting all 7 aspects correct is proper planting. We all know that limited time really plays into how fast you are likely to plant. Weather you have thousands of acres to plant or you work full time and only have nights and weekends to get the job done you probably have bumped up your speed a time or two. I'll just add that if you plant row crops for 35 years you only hopefully plant 35 times. If you get it wrong 3 or 4 times that is 10% of your income for those 35 years that are affected.



Smooth Planter Operation


The major causes of poor plant to plant spacing are seed and worn/damaged parts. 30" rows are planted at 5.5 mph to achieve 30,000 seeds per acre meaning each row drops 14 seeds per second. A machine gun shoots about 12 rounds per second. A delay in seed drop by 1/30 of a second results in the seed dropping 3.2 inches further down-row than expected.

Finger pickups target speeds will change based on row width, planting rate, & seed size. If you go to fast doubles increase and conversely to slow will allow more skips. On vacuum planters seed size and planting rates can effect accuracy. Slower planter speed has less impact. Higher planter speeds will decrease drops.


What is the cost of doubles? A low level of doubles (less than 10%) usually do not decrease yield.

30000 ppa x 5% doubles / 80000 seeds per unit x $300 unit x 500 acres = $2820

What are some common causes of seed drop errors: worn parts, improper adjustment, build-up of dirt or seed treatment in seed meter, & operation speed. As growers you are always looking for ways to manage your risk. Planter maintenance and good operation of the equipment is one huge variable that you can control.

Stand Establishment

Emergence is the report card for your efforts. We can go and evaluate your stand row by row and give a report card for your planter. When compiling this data we look at seed depth. What is the ideal planting depth? Should you try and trick mother nature and plant shallower or deeper because of environmental situations?

The ideal depth for corn is 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches. You are trying to get about a 1/2 inch below the moisture line. To shallow and you will have slow water absorption and poor nodal root development. Plant to deep and you will have emergence delays along with reduced seedling vigor. To insure proper and accurate seed depth make sure rocker arm assemblies on gauge wheels are working smoothly. Replace worn openers. It may be tempting to avoid replacing worn planter parts like the openers but you will reduce furrow depth and possibly have poor seed to soil contact. A good opener will leave a "V" shaped furrow while a worn opener leaves a "W" shaped furrow. Additionally manage residue in front of furrow openers.

In summary remember these points:

• Plant spacing and seed depth are often affected by planting too fast.



• Optimal planting speed is 4-5 mph - never over 6!!!!

-Growers can be tempted to speed up because the manual states meters can handle faster speeds - and that is true!

• Planter is not designed for speed - increased speed and resulting bouncing causes:
  

-Shallower planting

- Ricocheting in seed tube causing skips and doubles

Remember the R7 placement strategy and achieving maximum return starts with you.