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Soybean seed quality concerns for 2019

Asgrow/DEKALB Agronomist Dave Colbert says low quality soybeans are an industry-wide concern this growing season.

“Really every manufacturer out there is having some challenges on soybean seed quality,” he says. “It really came from frogeye leaf spot, purple seed stain, and we also had some seed coat issues.”

He tells Brownfield growers should consider a fungicide seed treatment.

“When you use a seed treatment you help those beans that might struggle a little bit and you get another 3,000 to 4,000 of those to make it into the good category,” he says. “This year is the year to have a seed treatment on your beans.”

Colbert says lower-than-average germination rates can negatively impact soybean emergence.

“You probably don’t have a lot of differences in emergence as much in speed you just have more batches of soybeans that are not quite as good as other batches,” he says.

The seed quality issues were caused by wet conditions and delayed harvest.

Audio: Dave Colbert, Asgrow/DEKALB