Heads Up Plant Protectants is making sure farmers have another tool in the toolbox when it comes to battling sudden death syndrome and white mold.
Colin Dutcheshen, vice president of Heads Up Plant Protectants, says their Canadian-based family company manufactures biological seed treatments to help farmers prevent fungal and bacterial diseases. Their signature product ?Heads Up Seed Treatment? is commercially available across the United States and is the first EPA registered seed treatment for the prevention of SDS and white mold in soybeans.
?It?s a biological treatment. It runs about $2.50/acre to the farmer. Any seed dealer, co-op, or retailer can apply it that has seed treating equipment. It?s often thought of as a cheap add-on, but also an inexpensive insurance to help protect against yield loss from diseases.?
Dutcheshen says white mold and sudden death syndrome are always lurking, especially in Iowa.
?Iowa is a huge region for us with Carroll, Sioux City, and in northwest Iowa ? Heads Up is used on a good amount of the acres. What we heard last year is that in the west-central region of Iowa, white mold is a big concern. We?ve had many calls this year with guys looking for options. Bean prices are pretty good right now and Heads Up is just another tool in the toolbox to help fight this white mold that has been a concern.?
Dutcheshen adds white mold and SDS have affected 40-to-50 million acres of soybean production in the north-central region of the U.S.
?White mold is a fungal disease, and it can set in July or in August. It looks like a cotton on the stalk, and it basically rots the stalk out of the soybean plant and causes early shutdown before the pods are able to fill out.?
Visit HeadsUpST.com for more information. Dutcheshen made his comments to the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network at the 2022 Commodity Classic in New Orleans.
