Syngenta Thrive - 4Q/2013 - 20

great
Beginnings

Crop establishment sets the
stage for better-quality, higheryielding plants. BY BONNIe THOMaS

W

hen it comes to crop establishment, there’s no second
chance at getting a strong start.
“growers who aren’t able to establish a good stand
at the beginning of the growth cycle end up fighting a season-long
battle that’s nearly impossible to win,” says Steven Poindexter,
senior sugarbeet extension educator at Michigan State University.
“Crop establishment sets the foundation for yield.”
Applicable to most U.S. crops, this strategy involves choosing
the best management practices and products to maximize plant
growth early in the season.
An Integrated Approach
“The importance of crop establishment is not a new concept,”
says Alex Cochran, Syngenta agronomy service manager in

18 | thrive

>>>> 4Q 2013

California, “but it is certainly a key factor in high-production
agriculture that needs to be continuously refreshed.”
A case in point is the use of fumigants, gaseous pesticides
injected into the soil prior to planting. For decades, growers of
high-value, disease-sensitive crops, including strawberries,
potatoes and carrots, have relied on fumigants to jump-start
yields by eliminating early-season pests. however, intense global
scrutiny of fumigants, which began in the 1990s, has led to the
desire for additional crop establishment tools.
in their pursuit of alternative methods to control and prevent
early-season pests, industry stakeholders and researchers who
specialize in these traditionally fumigated crops have come to the
same conclusion as professionals in other crop areas—such as
corn, soybeans, cereals and sunflowers: it takes a variety of
Syngenta Thrive - 4Q/2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Syngenta Thrive - 4Q/2013
