How Does My Seed Treatment Help My Crop?

It is a rare event for a spring to have ideal growing conditions from the time seed is planted all the way through to early season seedling development. Planting can occur when conditions are less than ideal, or conditions can worsen for an extended period after planting. In both cases, the seed or seedlings are vulnerable to infection by soilborne pathogens. Delayed planting may require additional weed control prior to planting, and weedy fields can be attractive to migrating black cutworm moths, resulting in seedlings damaged by moth larvae. Weeds incorporated into the soil can attract egg laying seedcorn maggots. A long-term alfalfa/grass stand terminated in the spring and incorporated into the soil can increase the likelihood of injury by true white grubs or wireworms.

Some of these situations are planned, and the risks understood, but other situations are unpredictable and the risks unknown. The value of a seed treatment is the protection it provides to the seed from many of the risks that can occur from planting until the early growth stages of the seedling.

What seed or seedling diseases and pests can be managed with a seed treatment?

Corn

Management varies with the fungicide or fungicides applied to the seed. Acceleron^® Solutions Offering BASIC is a combination of active ingredients that helps to provide protection against common seed and seedling diseases caused by various Fusarium and Pythium species as well as Rhizoctonia solani. The insecticide component, clothianidin, helps manage several corn insect pests and protects against damage from early season pests such as wireworm, seedcorn maggot, white grub, grape colaspis, and black cutworm. In addition, a nematicide component—a combination of Votivo^® and fluopyram—can be added to provide protection against nematodes. Consult the Acceleron^® Solutions Offering web page for more information at Acceleron^® Seed Applied Solutions or visit your seed provider for more options on seed treatments.

Soybean

Management varies with the fungicide or fungicides applied to the seed. Acceleron^® Solutions Offering BASIC is a combination of fungicides that helps provide protection against early season Phytophthora in soybean. Acceleron^® Solutions Offerings for soybean includes ILeVO^® (fluopyram) seed treatment, which also helps to protect against the causal agent for sudden death syndrome.

Can rescue treatments help control seed and seedling pests?

Rescue treatments have not been developed for most seed-feeding insects or are not available with current technology. Although sampling protocols for some insects have been developed (for example, wireworms and true white grubs), adoption of the techniques by crop consultants and growers has not been substantial.¹ The most widely used rescue treatment for corn seedlings is for the black cutworm. The treatment threshold for black cutworm is met when 5% of the plants are cut. In soybean seedlings, a rescue treatment for bean leaf beetle is recommended if the population averages two to three beetles per foot of row at the V1 stage, and the threshold is significantly higher at the V2 stage.²

Another option to help manage seed and seedling insect pests is an in-furrow application of insecticide, but this is a preventative management tactic and not a responsive one.

Will seed treatments help manage the risks of early planting?

Data from Land-Grant Universities continue to indicate that early planting, if conditions are favorable, provides the highest yield potential for both corn and soybean. Early planting does present some risks that planting later in the season does not, such as colder soil conditions at and after planting. Colder soil temperatures delay germination and emergence, and place the seed at great risk of both infection from pathogens and injury from insects. If combined with wet soil conditions, early planting can predispose seed to infection. Seed treatments that contain both an insecticide and fungicide(s) can help protect the seedling for several weeks after planting, reducing the risk posed by unforeseen weather conditions.

Do some of the Bt traits in corn products help provide protection against seed and seedling pests?

It depends on the pest. Except for black cutworm and possibly other cutworm species, the Bt traits do not provide protection against major seed or seedling pests of corn.

If cover crops are used prior to planting corn, is a seed treatment still needed?

While cover crops offer many agronomic benefits, the amount of biomass produced can increase the insect pests that attack the seed or seedling. Research from Louisiana State University indicated that corn yield was significantly increased following several legume-based cover crops when the corn seed was treated with an insecticide. The researchers hypothesized that the yield increase was a result of control of below ground insect pests that can reduce vigor and stand.³ The seedcorn maggot is attracted to decaying vegetation incorporated into the soil and could be a concern when a cover crop is terminated prior to planting.¹

Do seed treatments provide protection against plant feeding nematodes?

There are seed treatments available that provide protection against some nematodes. Acceleron^® Solutions Offering for corn includes Poncho^® Votivo^® seed treatment, comprised of Poncho^® (clothianidin) and Votivo^® (Bacillus firmus 1-1582) which helps provide protection against damage from a wide range of nematode species. The B. firmus strain in the seed treatment grows over roots, creating a living barrier against nematodes.

Are there any biologicals that can be applied to the seed to help improve yield potential?

There are many biologicals that are being developed and are available for use as seed treatments. Consult your seed provider to determine what products are available on your corn or soybean product.

Do I need an insecticide in my seed treatment when planting later in the season, when temperatures are warmer?

A seed treatment insecticide may be beneficial when planting soybean later in the season or as a double crop following the primary crop. If soybean aphids are a concern, planting later may increase the risk of aphids colonizing small seedlings by dispersing from nearby, earlier-planted soybean fields.

Sources

¹Sappington, T., Hesler, L. Allen, C., Luttrell, R. and Papiernik, S. 2018. Prevalence of Sporadic Insect Pests of Seedling Corn and Factors Affecting Risk of Infestation. Journal of Integrated Pest Management. Volume 9. https://academic.oup.com/jipm/article/9/1/16/5033787.

² Dean, A and Hodgson, E. 2022. Bean leaf beetle. Iowa State University. https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/bean-leaf-beetle

³Brown, S. The value of insecticide seed treatments in corn following cover crops. 2016. Louisiana State University College of Agriculture. https://www.lsuagcenter.com/profiles/truffin/articles/page1567617795189.

Web sources verified 02/10/25.

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