R7® Field Monitoring Tool Delivers Valuable In-Season Intel

The R7® Field Monitoring Tool (FMT) can help you scout smarter and plan nutrient applications for your customers more effectively. Farmers have a set amount of money to spend on in-season applications, so it’s important to help them get the most from each input. The FMT, along with R7^® Tool in-season imagery and NutriSolutions^® tissue sampling, provide the information needed to make those decisions.

Here’s how my retail partners and I used the FMT to scout corn fields in 2015.

1) When we scouted at V5, we found that:

• The tool let us know which fields were performing above average and which were performing below average. 
• Using R7^® Tool in-season imagery, we identified the optimal areas in which to take NutriSolutions^® tissue samples.
• We used the information gathered from scouting and tissue sample results to make the decision to apply MAX-IN® Zinc and a nitrogen side-dress to a field that was trending above average.
• The FMT, along with another NutriSolutions^® tissue sample taken two weeks after the V5 application, showed us that the field trended upward following the nutrient applications compared to neighboring fields. (The treated field showing a vigor index of 0.8, while the neighboring untreated field showed a vigor index of 0.7.)

2) We used the FMT to detect possible issues throughout the year, including:

• How a severe hail and wind storm that hit two weeks after the application affected the treated field, causing damage in some spots in the field. 
• How the damaged corn stalks were vulnerable to corn smut, which caused the field to trend downward for the next two weeks.

3) When we scouted fields at VT using the FMT as a guide:

• The tool indicated the damaged corn field was actually trending upward compared to neighboring fields, due to favorable weather conditions.
• The response to fungicide (RTF) score helped us determine if the crop would benefit from a fungicide application at tassel. We recommended a fungicide application, but the farmer decided against it because of cost and because the field was doing pretty well. He was pleased that the FMT helped him make in-season decisions and provided him with insights on how the products that were applied worked.

We plan to use the FMT again this year. It’s a great in-season scouting aid to obtain information about which fields show the most promise of optimizing yield potential. To find out more about how the FMT could help your customers, talk with your WinField ag technology specialist.