New Biological Seed Treatment Tackles Sudden Death Syndrome

The yield toll from Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in U.S. soybeans is often extreme. Losses of 20% to 80% or more are common, depending on the soybean variety and stage of crop development when the symptoms first appear.

This season, farmers have access to a new, EPA-approved biological seed treatment, CeraMax, to prevent the soil-borne fungal pathogen that causes SDS, Fusarium virguliforme, from taking their soybean yield potential captive.

Bill Haubner says CeraMax will be a difference maker for farmers who struggle to raise soybeans free from the impact of SDS.

“CeraMax is extremely competitive with the leading SDS hard-chemistry products in the marketplace today,” says Haubner, co-founder and president of Direct Enterprises (DEI), an Indiana-based seed treatment company marketing the product.

“We’ve seen the heartache SDS has brought U.S. soybean farmers and this is an effective, yield-enhancing alternative that is much better from an environmental stewardship standpoint,” adds Dennis Tauchen, DEI co-founder and COO. CeraMax was discovered and is produced by Ceradis, a spin-off of Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands.

Across 50-plus research trials in 10 states this past year, soybeans showed a significantly lower SDS disease incidence and an average yield increase of 4.3 bushels per acre where CeraMax was used.

Haubner says the active ingredient in CeraMax, natamycin, empowers the genetic potential of soybean seeds, increasing early-season vigor for a stronger, more uniform emergence and stand.

Unlike many biological products in the marketplace, CeraMax is not a living organism. Instead, Haubner says it’s a fermented bacteria, which contributes to its consistent efficacy in the field. “It’s not subject to a need for moisture and temperature to perform,” he says.

Fields planted to beans in at-risk fields or during cold, wet weather conditions are prime candidates for CeraMax, which needs to be used in conjunction with farmers’ existing seed-treatment program, Haubner says.

“If you have an SDS problem, definitely use it,” he says, citing parts of Iowa and Illinois where SDS flourishes. “If you’re in areas that don’t have much SDS, like western Kansas, this would not be a fit.”

Haubner says the company expects to place 20,000 units of CeraMax in a variety of growing conditions this year throughout soybean producing areas.

For more information on CeraMax and its availability, farmers can visit www.directenterprises.com or call (888) 895-7333.