Soybean School: Stick to first or second trifoliate when rolling soybeans

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OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner is back on his tractor and rolling soybeans for a second year as part of a multi-year research trial.

The fundamental idea behind the research is to somehow induce a response that will cause the soybean plant to become more bushy and produce more nodes. At meetings this winter, growers were intrigued by findings from the first year of Bohner’s soybean rolling trials, which showed a two-bushel yield response when beans were rolled first trifoliate. At later periods, yield response declined and yield was actually lost when the plants were rolled at third trifoliate.

In 2018, Bohner is replicating the research, which will see him compare non-rolled field trials to those rolled at first, second and third trifoliate. In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, we catch up with him on the first day of summer as he is rolling soybeans at third trifoliate.

As he surveys this trial, Bohner is not comfortable with what he sees: “There are quite a few beans here that are broken off and won’t recover.” The video paints a clear picture of what can happen to soys when rolled at the later stage and confirms Bohner’s recommendation for growers. “It’s first, maybe second, trifoliate and then we are kinda out of the game,” he says.

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