New Developments That Could Impact Delta Agriculture
Several newly emerging technologies that may benefit Midsouth soybean production are in the offing. When they are validated and applied, they should impact soybeans that are produced either as a monocrop or a crop that is grown in rotation with a grain crop such as corn or rice.
Scientists at LSU are researching the use of a nanodelivery system for application of seed treatments to soybean seed. This work is reported in a Sept. 2020 LSU AgCenter article titled “New nanodelivery system could help soybean seeds combat fungus” by Tobie Blanchard, and the work is highlighted in a more recent Mar. 2022 FarmProgress article with the same title. According to LSU AgCenter researcher Dr. Cristina Sabliov, this new nanodelivery system uses lignin particles to deliver seed treatment input to soybean seed, and to control the release of the antifungal seed treatments that are used. Lignin is a natural waste product from paper production, is biodegradable, and has the right chemistry to form nanoparticles. The goal of the work is to create a technology platform that can be adjusted to deliver inputs such as seed treatments, and subsequently allow for a decrease in the amounts of pesticide active ingredients that are applied. Dr. Sabliov believes that lignin will prove to be an excellent biolpolymer for such use in agriculture, and that the lignin platform can be engineered to deliver other chemistries to agricultural crops.
A FarmProgress article titled “Control pests to protect soybean yield” highlights the development of Ridgeback insecticide with Isoclast active by Corteva Agriscience. This new insecticide is touted to provide a new weapon in the battle against pyrethroid-resistant insect pests. It contains Sulfoxaflor (Group 4C insecticide) and Bifenthrin (Group 3A insecticide). The Isoclast active component delivers a novel Group 4C mode of action that has translaminar movement, which means that the product that is sprayed on the upper surface of leaves moves through the leaf and controls targeted insect pests that are on the underside of leaves. It is also touted to achieve fast knockdown and have long-lasting residual control of targeted pests. Click here to access the label that provides details about use of this insecticide and a list of targeted soybean insects.
In an article titled “Tailwater recovery research shows significant water savings in row rice”, author John Lovett of the Univ. of Arkansas cites the work of Dr. Chris Henry (Univ. of Ark. Assoc. Professor and Water Management Engineer) that has resulted in a patented tailwater recovery system for furrow-irrigated rice. According to information in the article, this novel tailwater recovery system makes furrow-irrigated rice competitive in water conservation and yield to a zero-grade flood system. According to Dr. Henry, irrigation efficiency with this system is high because the system captures the tailwater and returns it to the top of the field; thus, applied irrigation water does not leave the field. While the tailwater recovery system has the greatest potential for furrow-irrigated rice, it can also be helpful in improving irrigation efficiency in other crops such as soybeans that will be rotated with rice. Also, furrow-irrigated rice makes rotation to furrow-irrigated soybeans a more compatible rotation option.
In a Delta Farm Press article titled “Fertilizer tech may be game changer”, author Brent Murphree highlights several products that are touted to convert nitrogen (N) in the air into a form of N that can be used by plants. Details about these products can be found for PROVEN 40 from Pivot Bio, Utrisha N from Corteva Agriscience, and Kula-N from Kula Bio. Other companies such as Joyn Bio and BioConsortia are working to develop microbial products that can fix atmospheric N for use by non-legume crops such as corn and wheat. A research article titled “Enabling Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Cereal Crops in Fertilized Fields” appears in the ACS journal Synth. Biol. (2021, 10, 3264-3277). This article contains results from research that was conducted to describe the identification, development, and deployment of a microbial product that was optimized to enable biological N fixation for corn in fertilized fields.
Midsouth crop producers are encouraged to follow the development and availability of the above new technologies, and determine if/when they might be integrated into current production systems so that their potential agronomic and economic benefits might be realized.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2022, larryh91746@gmail.com