AGCO Agronomy: Testing for the best farming methods
22nd March 2024
Have you ever wondered if changes to the way you usually plant would improve your yield? Not many farmers would have the time and resources to test their theories. That’s where the AGCO Agronomy Team come in.
They are specialists whose job it is to find the most effective way to farm by carrying out controlled testing on all aspects of farming. Could the result have an impact on the way you farm?
Sugar beet: How deep to plant?
Sugar beet is an important crop across much of Europe. The AGCO Agronomy Team carried out a 3-year study (2019-2021) to test sugar beet planting depths in Europe. The research was carried out at the Swiss Future Farm in Switzerland.
How they did it
The team used side-by-side planting strips to compare a standard planting depth of 2.5cm with deeper 3.8cm planting. To ensure consistency they used DeltaForce automatic downforce control set to 45kg and 100,000 seeds per hectare. Planting dates were last week of March and first week of April with harvest in the October or November of the study year.
What did they find?
- The most interesting finding was the increase in fresh mass yield of sugar beet – with an average of 8.9% more as a result of the deeper 3.8cm planting.
- The deeper planting methods also increased sugar yield. With an increase in 7% on average by planting at 3.8cm rather than 2.5cm.
What did they conclude?
The yield advantage of planting deeper was more evident in the years with spring drought conditions. The study concluded that a slightly deeper planting depth placed the seed in sufficient moisture during crop establishment, leading to better germination and emergence conditions.
It’s not textbook
The Agronomy Team’s recommendations for deeper planting deviate from the textbook approach for two reasons:
- The textbook was written in the 1960-70 time period where the sugar beet seed vigour was lower than today’s varieties.
- Sugar beet seed coating has advanced in recent decades resulting in the seed coating itself absorbing more moisture before releasing the seed earlier.
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