Crop Scene Investigation - 41: Why did James' field have a line of troubled soybeans? - Solved

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A single row of soybeans in James' field was damaged by herbicide residue because his precision farming seeding and spraying practices ensured the seed was planted precisely on the stream of herbicide that had spilled out of his sprayer's leaky pressure gauge the previous year.

Pioneer Hi-Bred agronomist Scott Fife pieced the puzzle together when he noticed an RTK AutoSteer screen monitor in James' tractor. He then learned that the farmer had been using an RTK AutoSteer system for several years.

"That gives him sub one-inch accuracy and year-to-year repeatability," explains Fife. AutoSteer allowed James to follow the same track in planting the soybeans as he had with his spray application on corn the previous year. So he basically planted a row of soybeans precisely on top of the excess HalexGT herbicide that had spilled from the pressure gauge. AutoSteer ensured the line was maintained down the full length of the field.

Fife notes that AutoSteer played a key role in creating the injured row, but it also helped James spot the problem pressure gauge before the spilling line of herbicide was repeated across the field.

"With AutoSteer's hands-free steering, you don't have to pay as much attention to driving so you can watch how your equipment is operating. In this case, James had his eye on the sprayer, noticed the problem and was able to do a quick fix."

Congratulations to Gary Dill, Staffa, for his correct answer. BF