Soybeans pack plenty of yield punch. Georgia grower Alex Harrell offered proof of that again in 2024 when he smashed his previous yield record with a new harvest benchmark — a whopping 218 bushels per acre.
Yield contests show the genetic potential of soybeans, but what’s a realistic goal for growers as they continue to fine-tune management to increase yields in the millions of acres planted each year across North America? 100 bushels is likely a more realistic goal for growers say two of the continent’s leading soybean researchers — Purdue University’s Dr. Shaun Casteel and Horst Bohner from Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.
At the Ontario Agricultural Conference at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus, Casteel and Bohner teamed up to share insights on how growers can hit the triple digit yield mark. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, the researchers note that variety selection is a critical step in chasing higher yields — choosing the right variety for the growing environment can produce a 6- to 12-bushel swing. The right row spacing is also a significant yield determining factor with the advantage going to narrow rows, 15 inches or less. Getting row width right can increase yield by 5 to 10 per cent.
There’s also timely planting: Casteel says early planting can deliver 4 to 8 extra bushels, and occasionally better than 10. But much of the researchers presentation focused on sulphur and a growing understanding of how making adequate amounts of the macronutrient available to the plant can drive yield.
In Indiana trials, Casteel is seeing yield bumps of up to 22 bushels in early-planted fields with sulphur application. Bohner has not consistently seen that type of response in Ontario fields — his research, on average, has shown a more modest 3-bushel impact— but there have been examples of significant response, including one sandy soil field that produced a 27-bushel yield jump. Both researchers say there’s lots to learn about sulphur and how it can drive yield. Watch the video below.
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