There’s a new doctor in the field. And by “field” we mean the corn field.
For the last two and a half years, Liqui-Grow’s Lead Agronomist, Jake Vossenkemper, has been working on his dissertation in Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois. Jake has been a PhD student since the spring of 2012.
On Monday, March 27, 2017, Jake gave his final defense for his dissertation on crop management factors that interact with soybean planting dates. Through his research, he found that soybean-planting date, seed treatments, and cultivar maturity selection are all-important management decision to consider for producing maximum soybean yields. He also found that warm fall temperatures can increase soybean yields by 3 to 6 bu/ac compared to normal fall temperatures. In addition, he found that when temperatures remain warm in the fall, full-maturity soybean varieties often out yield mid-maturity soybean varieties. These finding add to our understanding of what factors are important to maximizing soybean yields, and may help soybean breeders breed for resistance to cold late-season air temperatures.
We are all very proud and excited for Jake’s most recent accomplishment! He will graduate on May 13, 2017.