Over the last five years, Iowa State University conducted a study comparing two of the most popular high speed planter setups: John Deere ExactEmerge and Precision Planting SpeedTube. In particular, researchers wanted to learn more about how much crop yield is impacted by spacing and singulation, and just how much speed affects these.
Standard Deviation of Seed Spacing in Corn
Standard deviation is a commonly used metric to determine how closely seeds are planted in perfect spacing. In layman's terms, standard deviation looks at how far each individual measurement between two seeds is away from the average of all the measurements in the particular set of data. A general rule of thumb for corn is that a standard deviation of 2.0 inches is acceptable for planters that are well-maintained - meaning that the spacing between two seeds can be +/- 2.0 inches from perfect before yield will begin to be heavily impacted. In the Iowa State study, the John Deere ExactEmerge had a lower standard deviation across all speeds (5 MPH, 7.5 MPH, & 10 MPH) than the Precision Planting SpeedTube.
Courtesy of Iowa State University Extension. <https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2020/03/high-speed-planting-technology>.
Survival Rate of Soybeans
While we've seen a rise in the importance of soybean spacing in recent years, most studies still focus on survival rate and overall yields as a measure of effectiveness. In this particular study, researchers found that in general, planters that promote true singulation will have a higher survival rate. In fact, the John Deere ExactEmerge had an average survival rate of 84%, while the Precision Planting SpeedTube had an average of 77%. A major factor in this difference is due to the fact that researchers found issues with the SpeedTube plugging when planting large seeds at higher rates due to the tube design.
Courtesy of Iowa State University Extension. <https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2020/03/high-speed-planting-technology>.
We've known since its inception that the ExactEmerge planter is technology that pays for itself - but don't just take our word for it! Check out the study by clicking the links below the pictures and let us know what you think.