March 28, 2024

Lumiderm increases seedling vigor, insect protection

JOHNSTON, Iowa — A new soybean seed treatment will help improve seedling vigor and protect plants from a larger number of insects.

“We have a new tool in our seed treatment toolbox,” said Brad Van Kooten, Pioneer seed treatment category leader. “Lumiderm, which is part of our LumiGEN seed treatment family of products, is an addition farmers can purchase in 2022.”

The day seed arrives on a farm is when it has the most genetic yield potential.

“The seed treatment role is to help the farmer get the most genetic potential out of the seed,” said Van Kooten during the Get Ready for the Future of Farming — Corteva Agriscience Summer Media Day. “The goal is to maximize the opportunity and get the plant off to a really good start on day one.”

Protecting soybean seeds is especially important when they are planted in adverse conditions.

“It use to be farmers always planted corn first and then soybeans but now that has shifted across the U.S.,” Van Kooten said. “I think there’s going to be more of that in the future because growers have had good success with early-planted beans.”

Research shows fuller season beans tend to yield more, Van Kooten said.

“Each year is different, but in general, I want to plant early and as full season variety as possible because I want to take advantage of the growing season,” he said.

The goal is for the soybean plant to flower early and have vigorous growth.

“I want the plant to be that big solar collector that helps me reach full yield,” Van Kooten said. “I want the plant to get to canopy as quick as it can and that vigorous growth is also one of my weed control tools.”

Adding Lumiderm seed treatment also reduces insect pressure in the soybean field.

“Lumiderm helps control twice as many insects as our prior standard, Gaucho,” Van Kooten said. “When paired with Gaucho, it adds another mode of action, so we have two modes of action to help with bean leaf beetles, seedcorn maggots and aphids.”

If seedcorn maggots are present, Van Kooten said, they will claw holes in the seed and feed on the cotyledons.

“Cotyledons feed the carbohydrates to the soybean plant to help get it off to a fast start,” he said.

The new seed treatment has been tested in research trials over the last several years.

“There is an 8% improvement in stands and less stand gaps,” Van Kooten said.

Lumiderm is an optional treatment that growers can choose to use if they think it will fit into their farming system.

“The grower that is doing early planting and striving for high yields will benefit from the Lumiderm seed treatment package,” Van Kooten said. “We get high yields from early planting, but we also see a one to two bushel yield increase by adding Lumiderm.”

The seed treatment also works well for farmers utilizing cover crops.

“One of the challenges with cover crops is more insect pressure as the residue is breaking down,” Van Kooten said. “Seedcorn maggot flies are attracted to the residue breaking down, so Lumiderm gives additional protection when soybeans follow cover crops.”

For more information about Lumiderm soybean insecticide seed treatment, go to www.pioneer.com.

Martha Blum

Martha Blum

Field Editor