Most of the yellow patches in soybean fields in Western Canada and the northern U.S. have disappeared as the plants have recovered, or turned necrotic and died, but one of the big questions heading into harvest is: what toll did widespread issues with iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) earlier in the season take on yields? The… Read more »
Category: Soybean School West
Soybean School: Planting on corn rows costs money
It pays to steer clear of those corn rows when planting soybeans. In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter explains that planting directly on, or too close to, last year’s corn row produces seed mortality rates between 50% to 80%. He notes that it really doesn’t matter whether growers are pulling… Read more »
Soybean School: Monitor seed size variation between varieties and seed lots
The race is on in many areas — and hopefully soon will be in others — to get this year’s soybean crop in the ground. It’s critical to make some pit-stops along the way to adjust the planter or drill for optimum performance, as covered in this Soybean School episode. Seed size can vary widely,… Read more »
Soybean School: Know Your Agronomic Risk When Planting Off-Patent Soybean Seed
Not only are there legalities that need to be considered when purchasing and planting off-patent soybean seed, as we discussed in an earlier Soybean School feature, but there are also agronomic considerations. Due to the nature of the off-patent soybean seed market, assurances for the grower on maturity, germination, quality, and purity are often lacking… Read more »
Soybean School: These Aren’t Your Grandpa’s Varieties
How have soybeans changed over the past century, and what can growers learn from this evolution? Purdue University agronomy professor Shaun Casteel has some answers. Speaking at the recent Ontario Certified Crop Advisor annual conference, Casteel shared insights from his research comparing varieties from 1923 to those available in 2011. In this episode of Real… Read more »
Soybean School: Are Your Rows Too Wide?
Preliminary results from a three-year research project in North Dakota show row spacings in many soybean fields are too wide to reach their maximum yield potential. A team of agronomists and extension agents at North Dakota State University are surveying growers to generate baseline data on soybean management practices in the state. Their goal is to… Read more »
Soybean School: Breeding for 000 Maturity Ratings
The amazing rise of soybean acres across Manitoba and into Saskatchewan is possible only because of the development of early, early soybean lines. Just how early? While zeros and double zero maturity ratings are great for “short” season areas in Ontario and Quebec, it’s the triple zero lines that shine in places like Arborg, Manitoba,… Read more »
Soybean School: Counting Pods and Plants to Make a Yield Estimate
It’ll be a few weeks before we actually know how this year’s soybeans are going to yield, but we can get a pretty good idea now, especially if we’re willing to put some time into building a good sample size for making an estimate. Dieter Schwarz, the new market development manager for corn and soybeans… Read more »
Soybean School: Refining the Soybean Aphid Threshold to Factor in Friendly Bugs
When soybean aphids start multiplying in soybean fields, the decision to spray is typically triggered by the number of aphids found on each plant. The threshold for growers in Western Canada is usually reached when there are an average of 250 aphids per plant on 80 percent of the plants. The population should still be… Read more »
Soybean School: Starting Clean More Critical Than Ever
Fifteen years ago, University of Guelph’s Dr. Clarence Swanton helped revolutionize weed control with his pioneering research on the critical weed-free period for soybeans and corn. Essentially, Swanton helped usher in the thinking that weeds that emerge with or shortly after the crop cause irreversible yield loss. He defined the critical weed-free period as 1st… Read more »
Soybean School: Six Secrets to Soybean Success
The first secret of soybean success really isn’t much of a secret, confesses agronomist Ross Bender. It all comes down to the weather, specifically rain in August. But farmers do have an opportunity to impact the remaining production factors that make up the six secrets of soybean success, says Bender, senior agronomist for the Mosaic… Read more »
Soybean School: Adding Moisture Back to Too-Dry Soybeans
Too wet isn’t good, but neither is too dry for growers looking to get the most value for soybeans. According to researchers at North Dakota State University, on a 40 bushel-per-acre crop, harvesting soybeans at 9 percent moisture rather than 13 percent will cost the farmer around 1.8 bushels per acre. At $10 per bushel, that’s… Read more »
Soybean School West — Soybean’s Relationship Status with Phosphorus: It’s Complicated
Soybeans are serious consumers of phosphorus, so it seems logical that supplying P fertilizer would be important for maximizing soybean yields, right? That’s wrong, at least in the short-term, according to research results in southern Manitoba. Researchers from the University of Manitoba and Manitoba Agriculture are comparing how soybeans respond to three rates of P2O5 fertilizer (20,… Read more »
Soybean School West: Testing the Belief that Black Soil is Best for Planting Soybeans
Preliminary research conducted in southern Manitoba is casting some doubt on the common belief that dark, tilled soil is best for planting soybeans in northern growing regions. Greg Bartley, a graduate student working together with Dr. Yvonne Lawley at the University of Manitoba, is in his second year of comparing how soybeans respond when planted into different… Read more »
Soybean School West: Checking for Root Rots and Seedling Diseases
Poor emergence or damping off of young soybean plants can be a sign of a seedling disease or root rot problem, especially following cool, wet weather as experienced in much of the soybean growing part of Western Canada this spring. As Holly Derksen, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, explains in this Soybean School West episode, there are… Read more »