Economics of Soybean Seed Treatments Paul Esker and Shawn Conley Field Crops Extension Plant Pathologist and State Soybean and Small Grains Specialist University of Wisconsin and UW-Extension Contact Emails: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Economics of Soybean Seed Treatments
Paul Esker and Shawn Conley
Field Crops Extension Plant Pathologist and State Soybean and Small Grains Specialist
University of Wisconsin and UW-Extension
Contact Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
Integration of components
WSMB-funded soybean seed treatment research
Soybean sown earlier into cooler and wetter soils and seed has much higher value
Stand count is important
Reduced stands = reduced yield potential Plant population (30-inch rows)
140k (8 plants/ft) 105k (6 plants/ft) 70k (4 plants/ft)
Stand reduction (%) Percent of yield potential
0 (full stand) 100 97 95
10 98 96 93
20 96 93 91
30 93 90 88
40 89 86 83
50 84 81 78
60 78 75 73
The reduction in stand was achieved by random placement of 12-inch gaps within rows 2 to 4 weeks after planting (Source: University of Illinois)
Seedling diseases
Phytophthora sojae
Pythium species
Rhizoctonia solani
Fusarium species
Pre- and post-emergent ‘damping off’
Causal organisms:
Oomycetes vs fungi
Oomycetes
Phytophthora sojae, Pythium species
• Cell wall composed of cellulose
• No cross walls in hyphae
• Diploid nuclei in vegetative state
• “Swimming” spores
• More closely related to brown algae and diatoms
True fungi
Fusarium species,
Rhizoctonia solani
• Cell wall composed of chitin
• Cross walls in hyphae
• Haploid nuclei in vegetative state
• Air- or splashed- dispersed spores
• More closely related to animals
Management of early season soybean diseases
• High quality disease-free seed
• Crop rotation
• Soil conditions and drainage
• Resistance
• Fungicide seed treatments – Early planting in cold, wet soils
– Reduced till and no-till fields
– Germination < 80% and indications of low seed vigor
– Previous history of soilborne pathogens
Conditions for disease development
Soil moisture Soil temperature
Pythium Flooded Cool (50-60 F)
Phytophthora Flooded Warm (70s F)
Fusarium Wet to dry Cool to warm
Rhizoctonia Damp to wet Warm (70-80s F)
Phytophthora Root Rot
• Losses estimated, 39 million bushels (2005)
• Phytophthora sojae
• Fungus can infect plants at all stages of growth – Seed rot
– Damping-off
– Root and stem rot
• Occurrence in fields with poor internal drainage, or in fields that have been saturated for 7-14 days due to high rainfall
Rot and Damping-Off
• Phytophthora Root Rot
(Phytophthora sojae)
• Mortality prevalent in wet areas
• Use seed treatment or resistant varieties
Phytophthora and Variety Selection
Soybean genes Phytophthora races controlled
Effectiveness in Wisconsin
Rps 1a 1, 2, 10, 11, 13-18, 25 Limited effectivenss
Rps 1b 1, 3-9, 3-15, 17, 18, 22, 24
Rps 1c 1-3, 6-11, 3, 15, 17, 2, 23, 24 Effective in 75% of fields
Rps 1k 1-11, 13-15, 17, 18, 22, 24 Effective in 99% of fields
Rps 3 1-5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 23, 25
Rps 4 1-4, 10, 12, 16, 18-21, 25
Rps 6 1-4, 10, 12, 14-16, 18-21, 25
Rps 1k, 6 1-11, 12-22, 24, 25
http://fyi.uwex.edu/fieldcroppathology/soybean_pests_diseases/phytophthora_soybean/
Survey of soybean seedling diseases
Isolates or soil received from 12 states State No. of fields sampled No. of putative oomycete cultures
Arkansas 1 1001
Illinois 6 219
Indiana 5 401
Iowa 9 394
Kansas 7 250
Michigan 12 276
Minnesota 6 251
Missouri * 6 0
Nebraska 4 90
North Dakota ** 6 225
South Dakota *** 6 0
Wisconsin 6 132
Total 74 3239
Average 6.2 270
*Soil samples collected, isolates will be baited; **Not including mid-season isolates; *** Isolates collected being purified
Oomycete species diversity
43 Pythium species 2 Phytophthora species
Rhizoctonia solani? • What is the potential for loss?
• 2011 Trials (Arlington ARS)
– No seed treatments
– Direct comparison of soybean varieties:
• With R. solani placed in-furrow @ planting
• No R. solani
– Conventional tillage system and no tillage system examined
– Varieties examined:
• S21-N6 (Syngenta); P92Y51 (Pioneer); AG2431 (Monsanto)
Conventional tillage
• Yield (P<0.10): reduced ~ 10% in AG2431, with similar trends in reductions for the other two varieties
• Key measures of productivity were similarly inconclusive like in the no tillage environment
No tillage
• Yield (P<0.10): reduced 8.4% for P92Y51 compared (others were trending negative, but no evidence statistically of differences)
• Key measures of productivity inconclusive although canopy reflectance suggested that there was greater stress in plots receiving inoculum
Seed treatments
• Estimated use (Munkvold 2009): –1996: 8%
–2008: 30%
–Current (estimate): > 50%
–Where does this fit into our system? Fungicides? Insecticides?
A3646 - Soybean
• Table 3.9 has expanded with numerous additional products (see also Appendix 1c)
Seed treatments
Active ingredient
Phytophthora sojae
Pythium species
Rhizoctonia solani
Fusarium species
mefenoxam/metalaxyl
E E N N
azoxystrobin - P F F
fludioxonil N N G G
ipconazole - P F G
pyraclostrobin - P F F
trifloxystrobin - P F F
E = excellent; G = good; F = fair; P = poor N = none
Available online @: http://ipcm.wisc.edu/download/pubsPM/Whats_on_your_seed_FINAL_4.pdf
Soybean seed treatment trials in Wisconsin
Generation 1 and 2 trials
Generation 1 Trials • Years: 2008 to 2010 • Locations: 9 each year (27 environments) • Design: randomized complete block • Three seed treatments:
– Untreated control
– ApronMaxx RFC
– CruiserMaxx
• Four soybean varieties each year (not all used in
all trial years)
Pathogens: Pythium, Phytophthora, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia spp., Sclerotinia and Phomopsis spp. (suppression) Insects: aphids, bean leaf beetle, and seed corn maggot
Esker and Conley. 2012. Crop Science 52:351-359.
Analyses
• Two types of analyses performed:
– Multi-environment analysis – what is the effect of soybean variety and seed treatment on early-season stand and yield?
– Bayesian economic analysis – quantify the probability that the use of seed treatment would be cost-effective
• Our definition implies that the cost of the product was covered by an expected relative increase in yield
Results
• Multi-environment:
– While differences in early season stand, no evidence of impact given all above levels required to achieve maximum seed yield
– Interaction of seed treatment by variety
• “Slicing” this interaction…response differed across varieties for untreated and ApronMaxx (P < 0.001)
• However, response was consistent for CruiserMaxx (P = 0.2794)
– Results that make over generalizing recommendations difficult…
Components of economic analysis
Seed treatment price ($ ac-1)
Grain sale price ($ bu-1)
Actual yield (bu ac-1)
4 6 40
10 9 60
12 80
We examined combinations of costs and yield to calculate a “cost relative yield”, which indicated the minimum % gain needed to
offset the cost of treatment
Results - environments
• Relative ratio ranged from -6.4 to +11.6% (variation in response across environments)
• Probability of breaking-even ranged from: – <1% at Fond du Lac in 2008
– ~ 100% at Galesville in 2009
• Low seed treatment price (across yields): 56 to 67% of environments > 50% probability
• High seed treatment price: 22 to 56%
Seed treatments?
Seed
treatment
GSP = $6 b-1 GSP = $9 bu-1 GSP = $12 bu-1
RR P
AY =
40
AY =
60
AY =
80
AY =
40
AY =
60
AY =
80
AY =
40
AY =
60
AY =
80
--------- -bu ac-1----------- ------------bu ac-1---------- ------------bu ac-1----------
Apron
Maxx
1.5 0.030 42 72 84 72 87 92 84 92 94
Cruiser
Maxx
2.9 <0.001 3 56 88 56 93 100 88 98 98
The relative ratio means that the range in yield protected is ~ +0.6 bu ac-1 @ 40 bu ac-1 to 2.3 bu ac-1 @ 80 bu ac-1 for +1.5% or
+2.9%, respectively
Response differs among varieties
Soybean
cultivar Seed treatment
GSP‡ = $6 bu-1 GSP = $9 bu-1 GSP = $12 bu-1
RR† P
AY = 40 AY = 60 AY = 80 AY = 40 AY = 60 AY = 80 AY = 40 AY = 60 AY = 80
------------bu ac-1------------ ------------bu ac-1------------ ------------bu ac-1------------
AG1403 ApronMaxx -3.2 0.014 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.2 0 0.2 0.3
CruiserMaxx 0.5 0.702 0.2 4 10 4 14 24 10 24 23
HS2025 ApronMaxx 2.7 0.254 67 75 78 75 80 82 78 82 83
CruiserMaxx 1.3 0.571 11 27 37 27 41 49 37 49 48
HS20R80 ApronMaxx 4.1 0.012 93 97 98 97 98 98 98 98 99
CruiserMaxx 2.4 0.139 13 40 57 40 63 73 57 73 72
KB177RR ApronMaxx 3.6 0.030 88 93 95 93 96 97 95 97 97
CruiserMaxx 7.7 < 0.001 98 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
KB194RR ApronMaxx 4.4 0.007 95 98 99 98 99 99 99 99 99
CruiserMaxx 7.1 < 0.001 96 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
P91Y70 ApronMaxx 0.07 0.978 25 33 37 33 39 42 37 42 44
CruiserMaxx 1.7 0.491 15 32 43 32 47 54 43 54 54
P91Y90 ApronMaxx -1.0 0.689 14 19 23 19 24 26 23 26 28
CruiserMaxx -0.4 0.877 3 9 15 9 18 23 15 23 23
Generation 1 summary • Complexity for making broad recommendations
regarding use of seed treatments
• Basing decision to apply solely on variety…where information may be lacking about effects of different diseases…is not necessarily best approach
• Multi-faceted approach that integrates probability of breaking-even provides step in right direction for developing risk matrix to improve decision-making
– Commenced in 2011 “Generation 2 Trials”
Chippewa Falls
Marshfield Seymour
Fond du Lac
Hancock* Galesville
Arlington
Janesville
Lancaster
Generation 2 Trials Seed treatments including: fungicide(s), insecticide(s) and nematicide(s)
• Years (2011-2013)
• Regions
– Southern
– Central
– N. Central
• Seed treatments
– UTC
– ApronMaxx RFC
– CruiserMaxx
– Avicta Complete Beans
– Trilex 2000
– Poncho/VOTiVO System
– metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin
– metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin + imidacloprid
• Varieties
– AG2330, P92Y30, NK S21-N6
E. Troy*
Seed treatment Products rate
ApronMaxx RFC AMRFC 1.5 fl oz/cwt
CruiserMaxx AMRFC Cruiser 5 FS
1.5 fl oz/cwt 0.085 mg/seed
Avicta Complete Beans AMRFC Cruiser 5 FS Avicta
1.5 fl oz/cwt 0.085 mg/seed 0.15 mg/seed
Trilex 2000 Trilex 2000 Allegiance
1 fl oz/cwt 0.55 fl oz/cwt
Poncho/VOTiVO System Trilex 2000 Allegiance Poncho/Votivo Gaucho PSF 1010 Yield Shield
1 fl oz/cwt 0.55 fl oz/cwt 2 fl oz/cwt 1.6 fl oz/cwt
1.5 fl oz/cwt 0.1 oz/cwt (dry)
Conley Special #1 Metalaxyl Pyraclostrobin
0.8 fl oz/cwt 0.4 fl oz/cwt
Conley Special #2 Metalaxyl Pyraclostrobin Imidacloprid
0.8 fl oz/cwt 0.4 fl oz/cwt 1.6 fl oz/cwt
What we applied
Effect of seed treatment on early-season stand
Seed treatment Plants per acre (000’s) Test statistics
UTC 115 P-value = <0.0001
Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin 113 LSD (5%) = 5.7
Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin + imidacloprid 112
AproxMaxx RFC 114
CruiserMaxx 126
Avicta Complete Beans 127
Trilex 2000 113
Poncho/VOTiVO System 121
Variety Seed Treatment Yield (bu/ac) Test statistics
AG2330 UTC 65.6 P-value = 0.0194
AG2330 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin 64.9 LSD (5%) = 3.02
AG2330 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin + imidacloprid 63.7
AG2330 ApronMaxx RFC 65.9
AG2330 CruiserMaxx 64.3
AG2330 Avicta Complete Beans 64.5
AG2330 Trilex 2000 64.4
AG2330 Poncho/VOTiVO System 65.7
P92Y30 UTC 62.5
P92Y30 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin 64.2
P92Y30 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin + imidacloprid 63.2
P92Y30 ApronMaxx RFC 63.9
P92Y30 CruiserMaxx 66.9
P92Y30 Avicta Complete Beans 65.9
P92Y30 Trilex 2000 63.0
P92Y30 Poncho/VOTiVO System 64.0
S21-N6 UTC 62.0
S21-N6 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin 61.1
S21-N6 Metalaxyl + pyraclostrobin + imidacloprid 61.9
S21-N6 ApronMaxx RFC 60.9
S21-N6 CruiserMaxx 61.8
S21-N6 Avicta Complete Beans 61.8
S21-N6 Trilex 2000 61.2
S21-N6 Poncho/VOTiVO System 63.3
Interaction of seed treatment with soybean variety
Working summary for Generation 2 trials
• Differences noted in early-season stand establishment
• Variety x seed interaction is similar to results we were seeing in generation 1 trials
• Currently working on examining the economics for the first year using economic data similar to generation 1 trial
FACTORS THAT CAN BE EXAMINED
How might data be used?
Crop Seed Price Calculator v1.2 (Lauer)
http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Season/DSS.aspx
Hybrid / Variety Variety A Variety B Difference
Seed Price ($/bag) $62.00 $75.00 -$13.00
Economic advantage ($/acre) of Variety A or Variety B. Seed price
difference = $13 per bag: A = $62, Variety B = $75.
Kernels/Seeds per bag
(no./bag) 140,000 140,000 0
Seed Population
(number/acre) 165,000 165,000 0 Yield advantage Crop Price ($/bushel)
Potential plant death (%) 10 10 0 bushel/acre $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 $8.00 $9.00 $10.00 $11.00
Acres per bag (acres/bag) 0.77 0.77 0.00 7 $18 $25 $32 $39 $46 $53 $60
Seed Cost ($/acre) $80.38 $97.23 -$16.85 6 $13 $19 $25 $31 $37 $43 $49
Herbicide Cost ($/acre) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Variety A 5 $8 $13 $18 $23 $28 $33 $38
Insecticide Cost ($/acre) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 yields less than 4 $3 $7 $11 $15 $19 $23 $27
Fungicide Cost ($/acre) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Variety B 3 $2 $1 $4 $7 $10 $13 $16
Insurance Cost ($/acre) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 2 $7 $5 $3 $1 $1 $3 $5
1 $12 $11 $10 $9 $8 $7 $6
Harvest Moisture (%) 20.0 20.0 0.0
Variety A = Variety
B 0 $17 $17 $17 $17 $17 $17 $17
Drying ($/point*bushel) $0.06 $0.06 $0.00 1 $22 $23 $24 $25 $26 $27 $28
Drying Cost ($/bushel) $0.27 $0.27 $0.00 2 $27 $29 $31 $33 $35 $37 $39
Handling Cost ($/bushel) $0.02 $0.02 $0.00 Variety A 3 $32 $35 $38 $41 $44 $47 $50
Hauling Cost ($/bushel) $0.04 $0.04 $0.00 yields more than 4 $37 $41 $45 $49 $53 $57 $61
Trucking Cost ($/bushel) $0.11 $0.11 $0.00 Variety B 5 $42 $47 $52 $57 $62 $67 $72
Storage Cost ($/bushel) $0.12 $0.12 $0.00 6 $47 $53 $59 $65 $71 $77 $83
Yield adjustment ($/bushel) $0.56 $0.56 $0.00 7 $52 $59 $66 $73 $80 $87 $94
Yield adjustment ($/acre) $33.60 $33.60 $0.00
Total Input Cost ($/acre) $113.98 $130.83 $16.85
Components to consider in relation to yield
• Our data provides framework to examine risk
• Using the crop seed price calculator, can examine things like:
– Seed price…without seed treatment compared with seed treatment [hold constant kernel and seeding rate information]
– Modifying seeding rate with use of seed treatment [takes into account the higher price expected to be paid with the seed treatment]
Acknowledgements
U.S. Wheat Barley Scab Initiative