Hail Simulator Brings Back Memories Of “The Soybean Zapper”

Hail Simulator Brings Back Memories Of “The Soybean Zapper” CROPS Miscellaneous When we saw photos recently of a “hail simulator” that consists of chains and golf balls mounted on a rotating drum it brought back memories of a front-page FARM SHOW story about a “Soybean Zapper” that appeared back in 1983 Vol 7 No 1 The newly developed hail simulator was built by Farming Smarter a Lethbridge Alberta research company to inflict damage on crops in order to evaluate recovery times for different plant varieties Drum speed is variable and it can be raised or lowered to inflict from 0 to 100 percent damage to crops The Soybean Zapper on the other hand was built by farmer Victor Zoellick of Rockford Ill to intentionally inflict up to 30 percent damage to standing soybean crops in order to stimulate growth and produce higher yields Zoellick had noticed that after hail storms “zapped” his bean fields they often came back stronger than ever He experimented for several years in a greenhouse before taking his machine to the field It used spinning rubber straps to inflict up to 30 percent crop damage stripping leaves from all around the canopy but without damaging the stem He found that the best time to zap beans was when the first blossoms appeared and plants were at 10 to 14 in tall Generally he found it took about 2 weeks for crops to recover but he said they’d come back stronger than ever with a stronger stem a larger canopy more nodules on the roots and more pods At the time of our story Zoellick and other farmers who had tested the machine claimed it boosted yields 10 to 15 percent Agronomists we talked to at the time of our original story said the theory behind Zoellick’s machine was sound if you could open the canopy at the top of the crop without damaging the stem But they said it would be difficult to build such a machine The Soybean Zapper never really found a market Nor did another similar machine developed separately at the time by an Illinois agri services company You can read the original article at our website www farmshow com For more information on the hail simulating machine developed by Farming Smarter contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ken Coles Farming Smarter no 100 5401-1st Ave South Lethbridge Alberta Canada T1J 4V6 ph 403 317-0022; www farmingsmarter com

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