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Tilley, Alberta | I will give you my experiences from Alberta, for what it's worth. If you are planting on 30" rows up here, you are REALLY setting the odds against yourself for a successful crop, based on maturity lag. The maturity difference on solid-seeded to a 30 " row spacing is about 10-12 days. Not worth the risk, from what I have seen. If this is your first year, better to go with what is known to work up in these parts, but like one post above stated, try a bit of the 30" spacing on your own land, just to prove it to yourself on a side-by side comparison. Remember, we were blessed with an extra long warm season last year, which may or may not be repeated. Not sure where exactly you are located, but unless you are in the Weyburn area, my bet is saying the safe way to go is the solid-seeded. If you are going to be trying your planter on a small scale, try a 15" overlap a second time to give you a 15" row spacing. you may find that might give you the best of both worlds. I like the precision of not only the singulation of a planter over an air-seeder, but also the detailed depth control that a planter offers as well.
It's true a planter is more precise and can give a better crop with less seed used, but if your precision-planted crop is still green when the snow flies, it's not worth much- opt for the less accurate controlled spill of your air-seeder to increase your odds of a successful crop.
Hope this helps,
Patrick | |
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Planting soybeans- planter or air drill?
