Information Resources from Plant Management Network
The Feb. 28, 2017 issue of the Plant Management Network (PMN) Newsletter provides the following resources on subjects that are of interest to Midsouth soybean producers.
With the advent of auxin herbicides being applied to auxin herbicide-tolerant soybean, much has been written about the requirement that growers utilize drift-reduction nozzles to apply these herbicides. However, fungicide applications typically have been applied with nozzles that produce fine-sized droplets to provide greater coverage. In the latest “Focus on Soybean” webcast, Mr. Shawn Butler at the Univ. of Tennessee discusses “Droplet Size Effects on Foliar Fungicide Efficacy in Soybean”. In his presentation, Mr. Butler talks about the need to balance issues related to drift reduction with issues related to fungicide efficacy. The following points from his presentation are highlighted.
• Use the fungicide label to select the nozzle type that will provide the recommended coverage of the applied product.
• Droplet size should be geared toward whether or not an applied fungicide functions by contact or systemic mechanisms.
• Droplet size should be geared toward providing the best potential coverage based on the location of the pathogen and its effect in the soybean canopy; i.e., is the major presence and effect of the pathogen in the upper or lower plant canopy.
• Systemic fungicide effect on frogeye leaf spot was not significantly affected by droplet sizes used in the studies discussed in the presentation.
You are encouraged to watch this short (about 12 min.) video to see the results of both small- and field-scale experiments that address the issue stated in the title.
In an article entitled “New Educational Website Explores Plant Breeding Innovation, Gene Editing”, a link is provided to an educational resource developed by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). This site houses resources about the evolution and future of plant breeding. It also includes a video library and a resource library, which has an “In the News” section that includes links to numerous articles about gene editing.
The PMN offers quality, science-based information about agronomic and horticultural crops that includes research articles, results from pesticide efficacy trials, and webcasts that are dedicated to issues relating to crop production.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2017, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net