As a leader in precision agriculture, John Deere continues to invest more and more into the innovation and integration of this new technology in order to help producers achieve their operational goals. Seed singulation and population control are only two (of many) factors that play an important role in improved yield potential... and that's just what John Deere's new soybean seed disc is bound to do.
Back in April of 2020, John Deere launched a new soybean seed disc (A105848) for MaxEmerge XP, MaxEmerge 5, and MaxEmerge 5e row units. This new upgrade will allow planters to excel in performance while maintaining and even improving yield. As compared to the traditional soybean disc with 108-cells organized into three rows, this particular seed disc is equipped with 64-cells organized in a single row.
To get a better understanding of the new soybean disc, we talked to Joe Autry, Clarkson Parts Manager. "The John Deere 64-hole soybean disc is a great way to achieve better seed singulation and population control... All that is needed to upgrade your planter is the new disc and an eight-tine knockout wheel," he commented. With this upgrade, you're looking at increased seed singulation, improved population control, and lower coefficient of variation. "You're going to get more out of it than you're going to put into it," Joe added.
"...increased seed singulation, improved population control, and lower coefficient of variation."
After we spoke with Joe, he referred us to Jerame Rief, Platte Valley customer who plants with a 9470R tractor and a DB40, 47-row planter. While this was only Jerame's first year using the new soybean discs, he has only had positive things to say about his experience.
Jerame left us with this statement, “For years we were using the standard 108-hole soybean seed plates on our 47-row DB60. When news came out of the 64-cell bean plate with knockout wheel, we jumped on it because we knew there was room for improvement. At 5mph and 120,000 plant population, we were able to achieve 94% seed singulation on average with some rows achieving 99% singulation by analyzing every row with John Deere’s Connect Mobile system. Digging in the ground, we were able to find a seed placed every 3 inches as expected.”
From the soybean singulation seed disc to the innovation of the upcoming ProMax 40 flat disc for planting corn, it's safe to say that John Deere has made great strides in Precision Ag, especially when it comes to planting.
Check out John Deere’s soybean singulation disc by stopping in at one of our four locations in Fremont, Wahoo, Clarkson, or Humphrey. Order yours today by visiting our website or by contacting any PVE parts department.