Planter Technology to Reduce Double‐Planted Area and Improve Corn and Soybean Yields

CORE IDEAS: Corn yield was more proportionally reduced for double‐planted area as yield level decreased.Soybean yield presented similar behavior for both double‐planted area and automatic section control at varying yield levels.ROI for the ASC technology is recovered with lower planted area when corn is the main crop.Overall DPA% was 5.5%, but for irregular fields double‐planted area increased faster as planted area rose. Double‐planted area (DPA) on end rows commonly occurs in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) fields. Economic and yield losses from DPA can be reduced by using the automatic section control (ASC) technology on planters. However, the effects of DPA on crop yield within different yield levels (yield potentials) as well as different DPA proportion within Brazilian fields are not yet quantified. Using two datasets, the objectives of this study were: dataset I‐ (a) quantify yield losses from DPA in corn and soybean; (b) calculate the planting area necessary to recover the investment from ASC for Brazil and U.S. farmers when considering: (i) yield loss, (ii), DPA proportion, (iii) corn/soybean ratio in the rotation, and (iv) planted area; dataset II‐ (c) estimate DPA proportion at a regional‐scale using data from 128 Brazilian fields. The main results were: dataset I‐ (1) corn yield losses linearly increased due to DPA as yield level decreased; (2) soybean yields were less sensitive to DPA; (3) when only corn was considered, economic returns from using ASC was recovered with a smaller planted area; and dataset II‐ (4) overall DPA proportion was 5.5% of the total field area, increasing proportionally for irregular shaped fields. Use of ASC technology benefited soybeans via seed savings, while for corn, via both seed savings and superior yields. Future research focused on the ASC benefits should consider potential interactions between crop genotypes, field management, and environments.