Flexibility and cost savings in custom seed treatments
蒙大拿州种植者Brandon Udelhoven说，定制的种子处理已经成为在困难条件下种植高质量小麦的重要工具.
作者:Peg Zenk
大多数农场的投入决策都是基于每个季节每个领域的最佳产出. Why should seed treatments be different?
For Brandon Udelhoven, who partners with his father, 布鲁斯, 农业7,500 acres of small grains and pulse crops near Winifred, 蒙特., planting conditions vary widely from one year to the next. Whether they’re planting lentils into wet, cool spring soils or seeding winter wheat into dry fall conditions, protecting the seed is critical.
“We’re firm believers in using seed treatments. They always pay for themselves as a form of insurance,Udelhoven说, 谁在五年前通过刘易斯敦的CHS Big Sky开始使用STI定制混合种子处理, 蒙特. “Big Sky提供的灵活性很有价值，尤其是在蚱蜢数量激增的时候.”
Season-specific blends
A wet spring and good grass growth in 2019 followed by a hot, dry summer set up perfect grasshopper breeding conditions in 蒙特ana.
“There wasn’t a lot of crop damage that season, 但在过去的四年里，这里的蚱蜢数量异常之多, with significant damage to small grains,Udelhoven说. “在我们的冬小麦种子处理中使用杀虫剂为秋季小麦种子提供了重要的早期保护.”
He says this year’s cool spring appears to have delayed insect activity. “We’re hoping for less pressure this fall, 但如果今年我们需要在冬小麦种子处理中再加一种杀虫剂, 我们可以在下订单前实地考察一下再做决定, a few weeks prior to planting.”
Wireworm populations can also do serious damage to cereal crops, notes Kyle Rollness, western regional 澳门皇冠赌场平台 sales manager for CHS. “但你无法在每个季节之前预测这种害虫的影响. Field scouting is key, 许多种植者已经能够在他们定制的冬小麦种子处理中添加一种杀虫剂，以防止线虫的损害或增加杀虫剂的使用量，以便更好地控制.”
On-farm flexibility
Preplant flexibility is important to many growers, especially those who apply seed treatments on the farm, like the Udelhovens.
构建混合
STI Customized seed treatment options
- 植物健康: 基础杀菌剂，水霉菌保护剂，辅助杀菌剂，SDS杀菌剂
- 害虫控制: insecticides, nematicides
- Growth enhancement: plant growth regulators, 菌剂 biologicals, micronutrients
- 美学: colors, polymers, seed finishers
“With STI Customized seed treatments, they get the exact ingredients they want, arriving shortly before they need them, 他们可以在播种时进行种子处理，这样就不会有剩余的处理过的种子,” says Perry Johnston, 澳门皇冠赌场平台 sales manager for CHS Big Sky. “我们通常每个季节为蒙大拿州中部贸易区的农民生产四到六种不同的混合物, although we have developed up to a dozen in a year.”
预先混合的种子处理通常用120加仑的可返回班车运送到乌德尔霍芬农场. “我不需要混合任何东西，这有助于减少化学物质的暴露，”Udelhoven说. “The blends stay in suspension well and apply uniformly on the seed. We’ve never had any handling problems.”
A range of product packaging options are available, ranging from 15-gallon kegs to 260-gallon shuttles.
生长促进产品也可以添加到定制的种子处理混合物中, including plant growth regulators, 菌剂, biologicals and micronutrients. 几年前, Udelhovens夫妇决定尝试在他们的冬小麦处理混合物中添加植物生长调节剂CHS解锁™植物激素补充剂.
“The first season we included Unlocked, 在我们完成播种之前，我们就用完了定制的混合物，那天就用现成的产品结束了,他说. “It was literally a side-by-side comparison in the field, 我们在两天前看到了解锁应用的出现，并且更加强大, healthier plants later that fall. Now Unlocked is always part of our winter wheat seed treatment blend.”
A decade of experience
CHS提供STI定制种子处理已有十多年的历史, explains Blake Murnan, product development manager with CHS.
“我们的混合业务很大一部分涉及小麦的种子处理, but we also blend for soybeans, 大米, potatoes and pulse crops, including field peas, lentils and chickpeas.”
CHS maintains blenders in Willmar, Minn.; Fargo, N.D.; and Spangle, Wash.; plus a new facility in Jonesboro, Ark., which opened in May 2023. “阿肯色州的新搅拌器将使我们能够扩大在三角洲的业务，并将为东部玉米带的客户提供服务,” says Michael Browning, a CHS seed treatment specialist. “We’ll be treating 大米 and soybean seed as well as wheat. We expect to have more than 20 blends next year.”
在全国范围内，STI定制系统中有660多种独特的种子处理混合物. 今年春天，CHS为全国各地的客户制作了70种不同的混合物，自去年9月以来，已经向客户交付了200种独特的混合物,布朗宁说。.
Only what’s needed
“With STI Customized seed treatments, we start by looking at pest pressure in an area, then building a blend based on those needs,莫南解释道。.
例如, 他说, water molds are a serious problem in Ohio, 因此，大豆种子处理通常含有较高的杀真菌活性成分和多种作用方式，以防止霉菌和疫霉.
在北达科他州, those disease pressures are less of a problem, so we’re able to dial down or eliminate active ingredient rates,穆南补充道. “有了STI定制系统，你不用为你不需要的食材付费.”
为特定用途构建最佳自定义混合通常从提出问题开始, 德里克·多兰说, CHS澳门皇冠赌场平台 account manager for Iowa and Wisconsin. “该地区作物在季初面临的最大农艺挑战是什么? What are expectations for seed treatment? What percentage of crop seed is currently being treated?”
Doing that homework with one retail customer, 多兰了解到，该零售商约30%的大豆种子未经处理就被送出了商店. 更多的研究表明，许多种植者的主要症结是提供的现成优质种子处理的价格.
CHS worked with the retailer to develop a value-p大米d, 农艺学上合理的替代方案，使用具有成本效益的活性成分，针对该地区的主要害虫问题.
结果是一个定制的大豆种子处理，适合种植者的需要，很容易为零售商采用. “定制的混合有助于为种植者和零售商带来价值，所以这是一个真正的双赢.”
了解更多澳门皇冠赌场平台 CHS澳门皇冠赌场平台.
请查看完整的 summer 2023 C Magazine with this article and more.
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