WALTON, Ind. — While farmers in parts of the Midwest battle an abundance of rain, they are also evaluating their seed choices. Growers can see side-by-side performance of different seed traits and treatments at Syngenta Grow More Experience sites across the country.

“You can see firsthand what works and not have to wait until next year. It gets the customer thinking now about how they can address problems,” said Chad Threewits, agronomy service representative for Syngenta.

Threewits hosted a demonstration this month of a new Syngenta experience site in Walton. Alongside genetically modified (GMO) corn and soybeans were non-GMO, treated and untreated varieties. He said these Grow More sites, now in their third year nationwide, go further than the typical test site.

“These sites are more complex and hands-on. There are 12 different protocols with 70 different treatments. We address seed treatments, fungicides, herbicides, genetics, seed populations and different agronomic issues,” Threewits said.

He said the purpose of the plots is not research and development but a full-blown experience site for farmers. “We want farmers to pull plants and ears off till there’s none left. If there’s a bug in the plant, we want to look for the worm.”

About 250 people visited Grow More last fall, and Threewits hopes 500 visit this season. He said farmers can contact their Syngenta representative to visit a Grow More plot near them.

“Farmers can get a big glimpse of what’s coming. We can talk about products all day long, but here we can compare how products do side by side,” Threewits said.

The goal is to help farmers make the tough decisions. “We need to protect our investment. It takes a lot to put out a crop. It’s difficult to decide what seed products will be beneficial.”

Producers in northern Indiana are seeing early weeds and the potential for fungus thanks to the nearly 20 inches of rain in some areas. Threewits said he had received three calls that morning about whether it was too early to apply fungicide. “Farmers’ plans went out the window” when the heavy rains began to pile on in June.

With development of new genetics, he said corn and soybeans have become more resilient, with some being “stress horses.” But, he added, farmers still have a long way to go to manage through the rest of the season.

He’s also optimistic about some of Syngenta’s new products, such as Acuron, the latest corn herbicide that adds a brand new active ingredient, bicyclopyrone, along with three complementary modes of action. He said Acuron had a limited launch this spring but will be promoted more next year. Sections treated with Acuron can be compared with other test plots at the Grow More Experience sites.

Syngenta researchers believe the multiple modes of action with the new active ingredient in Acuron will help combat glyphosate-resistant weeds.

“We’ve been able to show every year a 3- to 10-bushel per acre advantage with seed treatment and 5 to 25 bushels with fungicide. Folks are talking about cutting back on inputs. We have low-input options with a basic herbicide. But with low commodity prices, we need more bushels,” Threewits explained.