Sowing the seeds to success
Work carried out in 2003 by Allan Mitchell of Mitchell Ag Consulting of Togo, Saskatchewan, Canada, gave excellent results from application of Teprosyn Zn/P.
Wheat seed (var. Intrepid) was treated in May at label rate and immediately loaded into the air seeder. In the research diary observations noted that the product dried on the seed very quickly, flowed well and and was not sticky. Teprosyn was compared to a well known competitor product which had to be allowed to dry down as it would stick and gum up the application equipment.
Allan Mitchell reported:
"In short Teprosyn was a superior product to handle."
Although there were no differences in germination, the Teprosyn treated area showed better early development. Plants were then sampled and examined for root mass comparison. The photo shows the increased root biomass observed for the Teprosyn treated area (on the right of the picture) over the competitor product. In Canada cereals are usually sown into cooler soils and this early season boost from Teprosyn gets the crop off to the best possible start allowing superior establishment and uptake of other essential nutrients. Improving early development vigour in this way also means that other inputs are maximised. The Teprosyn treated area ultimately yielded 12% more than the comparison treatment.
Allan Mitchell concluded:
"I was very impressed with the superior handling, and performance of Teprosyn. I believe it is one of the most exciting new products in the agricultural market today. It will be a definite asset to producers looking to increase crop yields."
Author: Jeff Bereza, Canada
Published: December 2003