Farmers are planting too much soybean seed. That’s a conviction agronomist Pat Lynch is firm on. “What we’re doing is determining the population based on the poor parts of the field because we don’t want to have these thin spots.” says Lynch. While high seeding rates help populate under-performing areas of the field, they produce… Read more »
Category: Soybean Planting
Soybean School: Helping varieties ‘flex’ for higher yield
The concept of ‘flex’ corn hybrids has been talked about in seed circles for several years. The idea is quite simple: these corn hybrids have the ability to flex and create larger ears with more girth at lower populations. They produce higher yields when planted in the 28,000 seeds per acre range. The idea of… Read more »
Soybean School: Trade the hula hoop for boots and a measuring tape
What’s the gap between your soybean seeding rate and final stand count? It’s a key management consideration if growers want to get a handle on what’s happening in their fields and increase yields, says Syngenta agronomic sales rep Marijke Van Andel. When growers discover there’s a 20 percent gap between seeds planted and the final… Read more »
Soybean School: Stick to first or second trifoliate when rolling soybeans
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… Read more »
Soybean School: How Pre-till vs No-Till stack up for optimal plant stand counts
On the first day of summer how many soybean plants per acre are required to maintain 100 percent yield potential? The answer is simple – 150,000 plants per acre. But there are many management factors to consider when trying to hit that number. In this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food… Read more »
Soybean School: Planting twin rows in strip till
Strip tillage in corn is growing in popularity in Ontario, but we don’t often see the tillage strategy employed in soybeans. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes us to a strip-tilled field, which features twin row, 7.5-inch soybeans planted on 30-inch centres. In the field, Cowan’s bother, Larry… Read more »
Soybean School: No quick fix for managing protein
The introduction of protein price discounts by at least one soybean buyer in Western Canada this past winter has left soybean growers wondering what can be done to ensure Prairie soybeans are high enough in protein content. Unfortunately, there’s no quick or easy management fix, says Dennis Lange, pulse and soybean production specialist with Manitoba… Read more »
Soybean School: Why tackle herbicide resistance with multiple modes of action?
Many agronomists talk about the importance of multiple modes of action when planning a weed control program. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist Mike Cowbrough shows you why. We catch up with Cowbrough as he surveys a patch of Canada fleabane that has survived… Read more »
Soybean School: Scout to evaluate your stand and when to go rolling
What’s your strategy when scouting a newly emerged soybean field? When Agromart Group agronomist Steph Kowalski walks into a soybean field this time of year, the first thing she looks to assess is final emergence and population. “It’s important to know how well we got that seed into the ground,” Kowalski tells RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin… Read more »
Soybean School: Does row orientation impact weed pressure and yield?
By François Tardif Many master gardeners would tell you that to maximize your vegetable yields, rows need to be oriented in a north-south manner. This is supposed to maximize light interception by the crops, which in turn maximizes photosynthesis. In contrast, east-west rows have more shading and this negatively impacts yields. Is the same true… Read more »
Soybean School: Understanding the total yield cost of bin-run seed
There are certainly unknowns and risks that come with planting bin-run soybean seed versus certified seed, but one significant piece of information has been confirmed by crop insurance data in Manitoba: older, off-patent varieties don’t have the same yield potential as newer varieties. As Dennis Lange, pulse specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, points out in this… Read more »
Soybean School: Understanding iron deficiency chlorosis risk heading into planting
As planting decisions are finalized, the risk of iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is one of the factors soybean growers in Western Canada and the Northern Plains are keeping in mind after unprecedented yellowing due to IDC in many areas last year. A wet 2016 growing season followed by a dry start to 2017, left elevated… Read more »
Soybean School: How do researchers unlock higher yields?
Does throwing the kitchen sink at your soybean crop provide an economic yield response? The answer is a definitive “No” says University of Minnesota associate professor Seth Naeve. His conclusion is based on the the results of a huge three-year U.S. study that he shared with growers attending the Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, Ont.,… Read more »
Soybean School: How wide is your spring burndown window?
If you have weeds pop up prior to planting soybeans you can control them with a burndown herbicide application. But what happens when rain and wind conspire to prevent you from applying a burndown and you have to control weeds after planting? In this episode of the Soybean School, OMAFRA weed control specialist Mike Cowbrough… Read more »
Soybean School: Make resistance a priority when selecting varieties
Next time you chose a soybean variety, don’t just consider yield trials. Be sure to take a close look at disease trials; they help determine whether the yield potential of the variety you select will become reality in your field, says OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert Tenuta. In this episode of the Soybean School, we catch up… Read more »