Soybean School: Late-planted crop playing catch up

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It’s been a rugged start for Ontario’s soybean crop. With cool, wet growing conditions, late planting, insect feeding and soil crusting, many growers find themselves squarely behind the eight ball.

According to OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner, most soybeans have been planted but some growers are still struggling to get seed in the ground. What are the implications for the 2017 Ontario crop?

In this episode of Real Agriculture Soybean School, Bohner explains it’s very difficult to predict yield because of the crop’s ability to make yield late in the season. “It’s just too early to know.”

The biggest challenge is the high number of patchy fields that look to have plant populations numbering 50,000 to 60,000 plants per acre in some areas.

Bohner says many growers have opted not to replant and that’s likely the right choice. “We want a minimum of 100,000 plants, which is only 2.3 plants per square foot. It’s the right decision to leave it alone because it’s only pockets, but those areas are not going to yield what they should.”

That could mean a five-bushel per acre yield loss on a field level, notes Bohner. “It’s not a super start and it’s time to catch up.”

Click here for more Soybean School videos.

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Soybean School (view all)Season 6 (2017) Episode 19
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