Call Us: 866.481.7333
Blog
Contact Us
Dealer Login
  • Products
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
    • Corn
    • IP Soybeans
    • Wheat
    • Yellow Peas
  • Promise+
    • Financing
    • Rewards
  • Our Difference
    • Quality
    • Research
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
Call Us: 866.481.7333
Blog
Contact Us
Dealer Login
  • Products
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
    • Corn
    • IP Soybeans
    • Wheat
    • Yellow Peas
  • Promise+
    • Financing
    • Rewards
  • Our Difference
    • Quality
    • Research
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
  • Products
    • Corn
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
  • Promise+
    • Rewards
    • Financing
  • Our Difference
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Dealer Login
  • Products
    • Corn
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
  • Promise+
    • Rewards
    • Financing
  • Our Difference
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Dealer Login
  • Products
    • Corn
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
  • Promise+
    • Rewards
    • Financing
  • Our Difference
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Dealer Login
  • Products
    • Corn
    • Soybeans
      • P3 Soybeans
      • PFS Soybeans
      • Seed Treatment
  • Promise+
    • Rewards
    • Financing
  • Our Difference
  • Find a Rep
  • About Us
    • The Ag Team
    • History
    • Careers
  • Become a Partner
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Dealer Login

Imbibitional Chilling – Avoid Planting Into Cold Soils

Published by Kelsey Stumvoll on March 31, 2022
Categories
  • Agronomy
Tags
  • cold weather planting
  • corkscrew
  • corn
  • corn planting
  • corn planting date
  • imbibitional
  • imbibitional chilling

While it may not feel like it everywhere, spring is definitely on the way. Along with the excitement that comes with warming temps and melting snowbanks comes that spring planting itch. But going into spring preparations, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Even as you watch your neighbors roll out to plant those first few acres, pump the brakes and examine your field conditions! This spring, we’re highlighting planting mistakes that can be prevented with just a little patience –  saving both stand-loss and money. One of the sneakier corn-stand killers is imbibitional chilling.  

When corn seed goes in the ground, the first thing it does is aggressively soak up or ‘imbibe’ water. Knowing this, many growers try to time some of their planting with an anticipated rain.  

But, if your corn imbibes water under 50 degrees during the first 24 to 36 hours, the seedling is likely to be damaged or even killed. 

You can avoid imbibitional chilling by taking a breath and waiting until the soils are at a stable 50 degrees for that first 24-to-36-hour window. If a rain is forecast during that window, you will want to monitor those temperatures to prevent cold shock.  

If you get some temperature fluctuations or cold rain, we recommend walking the field and digging up a few seeds. Look for damaged tissue that is brown or mush (below). 

If either the shoot or radicle looks brown and dead, you should dig up a few more seeds from different areas in the field to assess the damage and consider a replant. Seedlings cannot recover from tissue death at this early stage. With the radicle killed, the seedling may still push out of the ground but will not be able to develop a root system. No root system means no food or water. The seedling might poke through the soil and green-up, but it will quickly run out of energy and wither.  

Additionally, the shoot can grow abnormally, growing sideways, down, or in a corkscrew (below). Watch for these symptoms as a seedling only has so long to recover before it will die. 

Every year we like to include a planting date study in the Ole & Sven plots and boy, did we ever learn a lesson past year about cold soils. We included five different planting dates over 43 days, spanning a 20-degree soil temperature range. 

Check out the image below for more proof that it pays to wait to plant. Planted populations were all 34K. From the earliest date to the last, we had final stands of 6K, 23K, 27K, 32K, and 33K. Our example might be a bit dramatic, but it just shows that getting too antsy costs you real money.  

So this spring, when you are watching the neighbor roll by to muck things in, remember to take a breath and double-check your conditions. It pays to be patient and let the soil warm up.  

Share
Kelsey Stumvoll
Kelsey Stumvoll
Having grown up around a fifth–generation family farm, Kelsey always knew she wanted a career in ag. Graduating from NDSU’s Crop & Weed program, she brings a background in soil health and a natural curiosity for the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ of what happens in your field. If she doesn’t know the answer, you can bet she will find someone who does! Be sure to utilize Kelsey’s drive, curiosity, and passion for agriculture to help you raise more bushels on your farm. When she’s not researching the latest in ag news and products, Kelsey is usually on the lake fishing, hunting, or lost in the mountains snowmobiling.

Related posts

March 10, 2023

What is ‘west’?


Read more
November 18, 2022

Corn Rootworm: The Most Corn-on-Corn Since 2012 and a Renewed Interest in SmartStax


Read more
October 26, 2022

Spooky Soybean Cyst. Test this Fall to Know Your Fields


Read more

Subscribe to Swenson’s Snapshot Weekly GDU Report!

Search Our Blog

✕

Categories

  • Agronomy
  • News
  • Ole & Sven
  • Peterson Community
  • Research & Testing
  • Seed Genetics & Traits
  • Technology

Browse Archives

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Dec    

Peterson Farms Seed

3104 164th Ave. SE
Harwood, ND 58042

Toll Free: 866.481.7333

Products & Resources

Corn
Soybeans
Find a Rep
Dealer Login

Keep in Touch

© 2020 Peterson Farms Seed. All Rights Reserved.