With soybean prices tight and the ag economy under pressure, every bushel counts - even on your double-crop acres.
One way to counter lower market prices is high yield, says Scott Dickey, regional agronomist with Beck's, and seed treatments help.
His No. 1 priority? Get the crop out of the ground.
It is especially important during tough years such as 2024, where some farmers were trying to emerge a crop in really wet conditions, while others were in dust.
"You can't predict from year to year what weather you're going to have or what diseases may affect you," Dickey explains. "When you see all those different components in [seed] treatments, it's because we just can't predict what we're going to deal with."
Double-crop soybeans, typically planted after winter wheat harvest in late June or early July, present difficult challenges due to a shortened growing season and variable environmental conditions.
Here are three reasons to consider seed treatments for double-crop soybeans:
1. Weather-related stress. Late planting often exposes soybean seeds to difficult soil conditions. If a rainy period sets in, wet soils delay germination and increase diseases and pest pressure. Seed treatments containing fungicides and insecticides can protect seeds, promoting better emergence and stand establishment. Dickey notes that treatments can lead to improved plant stands, especially under challenging weather conditions.
2. Disease pressure. Double-crop soybeans are susceptible to various diseases, including rhizoctonia solani, phytophthora root and stem rot, cercospora leaf blight and seed stain, and frogeye leaf spot. Soilborne pathogens thrive in the warm, moist soils that are common during late planting. Fungicide seed treatments provide protection from these diseases, reducing seedling mortality and promoting healthier plant development.
3. Yield enhancement. While double-crop soybeans generally yield less than a full-season crop, seed treatments can help narrow this gap. It boils down to promoting vigorous soybean stands, Dickey says. Seed treatments can also mitigate damage from pests, such as soybean cyst nematode, that weaken the plant, making it more susceptible to sudden death syndrome and yield loss. He points to Saltro and Ilevo as treatments that are "highly effective at protecting plants," but he adds they are not silver bullets. Beck's moved from Ilevo to Chiltosan (a stress mitigator) in 2025, aiming to protect yield as nematicide options shrink. Studies have shown that fungicide seed treatments can lead to average yield increases of 2.5 bushels per acre over multiple years.
While soybeans are resilient and can adapt to various conditions, Dickey says, seed treatments offer a proactive approach to managing risks associated with double-crop soybean production.
The goal, he adds, is to establish a strong, uniform stand that can better withstand season stresses and set up the crop for higher yield potential.
