Probability of Yield Response and Breaking Even for Soybean Seed Treatments

Earlier soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] planting coupled with increasing seed cost and commodity prices has led to an increase in the number of hectares treated with seed treatments. Ultimately, growers would like to know if applying such treatment is cost effective. Therefore, the objectives of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crop science 2012, Vol.52 (1), p.351-359
Main Authors: Esker, Paul D, Conley, Shawn P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Bayesian analysis
Biological and medical sciences
commodity prices
cost effectiveness
Crop diseases
Crop production
Crop yield
Cultivars
fludioxonil
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Glycine max
growers
Insecticides
insects
Life sciences
pathogens
Plant populations
planting
Probability
production technology
seed treatment
Seed treatments
seed yield
Seeds
Soybeans
thiamethoxam
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Summary:Earlier soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] planting coupled with increasing seed cost and commodity prices has led to an increase in the number of hectares treated with seed treatments. Ultimately, growers would like to know if applying such treatment is cost effective. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to quantify the effects of seed treatment on early season plant population and seed yield and investigate the probability that yield response covered the cost of the seed treatment. Trials were conducted in Wisconsin from 2008 to 2010 at nine locations each year to compare no seed treatment, mefenoxam + fludioxonil (ApronMaxx), and mefenoxam + fludioxonil + thiamethoxam (CruiserMaxx). Results indicated differences in early-season plant population due to cultivar and seed treatment and that seed yield was affected by a cultivar × seed treatment interaction. At a low seed treatment price, the percentage of environments where the probability of breaking even was >50% and ranged from 56 to 67%, while it ranged from 22 to 56% at a higher price. Both ApronMaxx and CruiserMaxx had positive response ratios of 1.5 (p = 0.030) and 2.9% (p < 0.0001), respectively, but responses were cultivar dependent. Given annual environmental variability, a general lack of field information regarding field history of pathogens or insects, and the high turnover rate of soybean cultivars, soybean seed treatments can be a cost-effective component to integrate into soybean production systems.
ISSN:1435-0653
0011-183X
1435-0653
DOI:10.2135/cropsci2011.06.0311