Agronomy
We recently acquired a JD7000 6RN planter that we plan on doing both corn and soybeans with. I am trying to get it set up for beans this year and am wondering how critical it is to run starter (2x2) on the planter? I’ve been out of the game for a while but in the past I don’t recall many people using starter on soybeans. Since I am overhauling the whole liquid fertilizer system on the planter, is it worth it to get it working for beans this year or wait until we are planting corn with it? Also looking at electric pumps for 2x2, would 5gpm take care of most fertilizer needs in corn? Currently the planter had a hydraulic driven pump that would do over a 100gpm but this seems way overkill and won’t work with our tractor hydraulics.
6
when we used starter on soybeans, 8 & 17 gpa of 9-18-9-1s we got a lot more vine growth, we couldn't see any yield difference, corn seemed better the next year. we have used electric pumps & controllers for 20+ years, only had 1 pump go bad, still on same controller. have setup planters with 5gpa in furrow, some want both in furrow & 2x2. we like totally tubular or schafert rebounders depending on...
****, I wouldn't worry too much about getting starter on beans. I'm sure there would be a response, but it's far from necessary.
2
Electric pumps work great. We run two pumps on our corn planter (one for 2X2X2 and the other for in furrow) and one pump for in-row starter on our bean planter. Micro-Trac dual rate controller combined with Micro-Trac EPD runs the pumps. Nice system, but be sure to have a spare EPD module on hand because they can fail without any warning. They are reliable, but they do go bad eventually.
2
There is a place near Colby, wi. That does a nice electric fertilizer set-up. It is not as trouble free as a wheel drive piston pump, but gets the job done. Name is The Planter Shop 715-223-1750
3
Actually talked to them a bit ago and am planning on getting new tanks and brackets from him. I’ll talk to him about the electric setup too. Thanks