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May 2016

Disease Management: Soybean Cyst Nematode Threat Calls for New Management Options

Published in the June 2015 edition of No-Till Farmer…www.no-tillfarmer.com No-tillers may already have this parasitic soybean pest, but rotating crops, using resistant varieties and adding seed treatments can help them win the battle. There are two kinds of soybean farmers in the Midwest, Greg Tylka says: Those who are concerned about soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), and those who should be. The Iowa State University plant pathologist showed attendees at the Iowa Soybean Assn. Research Conference just how much SCN has spread in the Midwest over the last several decades. As of 2014, 30 states from the East Coast up into the [...]

By |May 31, 2016|

Agronomy: Soybean Best Management Practices

Are you following the best management practices for conservation and nutrient loss reduction? Illinois farmers, the fertilizer industry and government agencies, along with agronomists and CCAs, are teaming up across the state to do their part in implementing the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (INLRS) to help reduce surface water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. While nitrogen fertilizer is not commonly applied for soybeans, the soybean crop uses a large amount of nitrogen (N), and management practices that reduce N loss from soybean crops are important to the INLRS. The goal is nutrient loss reduction, not nutrient use reduction. Supplying [...]

By |May 27, 2016|

Agronomy: Considerations for Double Cropping

I was reminded today that wheat harvest is not far away. No, it wasn’t seeing a combine sitting out by a shed. It wasn’t even headed or flowering wheat. The sound of a helicopter flying on soybean seed was a reminder that wheat harvest is a little more than a month away and double-crop soybean planting is underway. How can that be? It’s still early May and many down here in Southern Illinois have yet to finish corn planting, let alone start much bean planting. There are two ways to get your double-crop beans planted early. One way is to [...]

By |May 26, 2016|

Agronomy: Rolling Beans

Rolling soybeans is probably not a common practice in Illinois with the deep prairie soils and relatively level terrain. But it has its benefits and ups and downs and is practiced in states like North and South Dakota, and areas of western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. Ground rolling prepares the field for harvesting by leveling fields, pushing rocks into the soil, shattering corn root balls and stumps, and smoothing the seedbed. Growers can lower their platforms closer to the ground with less risk of picking up dirt, clods or rocks. This was a big deal until draper heads came on [...]

By |May 25, 2016|

Disease Management: I Hope You Don’t Smell Soybean Root Rot in Your Field

Recently, I was asked by a colleague which disease pathogens I find most often in early emerging soybeans. To start, I am happy to report that as soybeans are planted earlier each year, more growers are using seed treatments. Fungicide seed treatments can offer control early in the season, but keep in mind that not all of fungicides within seed treatments specifically protect or are registered to be used against the oomycete fungi like Pythium and Phytophthora. There is always the chance of resistance to a seed treatment’s specific fungicide, but this has yet to be documented in "our neck [...]

By |May 25, 2016|

Agronomy: Rethinking Planting Depth

What depth are you planting at and should you be planting deeper? For a long time now the recommended soybean planting depth was 1 to 1.5 inches, while corn planting depth was 1.5 to 2 inches. But does that soybean depth still hold true today? A recent article from Michigan State University stated that soybean planting depth still matters. Their field surveys showed that only 20 percent of the fields planted with drills were planted at the intended depth and 68% were planted too deep.  The long-held belief is that soybeans should be planted between 1 and 1.5 inches deep, [...]

By |May 24, 2016|

Using drone-based imagery to manage soybeans

Can we use drones to better manage our soybean crop? We think so and intend to set out to validate it through a case study in 2016. So stay tuned and learn more. The last two years we have heard a lot about using drones to capture images of crops and about everything else we can think of. There are a number of aerial platforms available now, some quite inexpensive depending on the type of aircraft and camera. Copters are much less expensive than fixed wing aircraft and either can be configured with an RGB (visual) or IR (infrared) camera. [...]

By |May 24, 2016|

Agronomy: Planting Status Across Illinois

The USDA’s May 15 Crop Progress Report states that 36% of U.S. soybeans have been planted as of May 15. In Illinois only 29% of soybean acres have been planted. Planting progress is behind the 43% reported planted at the same time in 2015. Mike Wilson, Southeast Illinois says: Here in Southeastern Illinois we have planted very few soybeans (less than 5%) and still have most of our corn to plant. As of this writing (May 16) we really need dry, warm weather to try to finish up. We had hail last week that wreaked havoc on some of [...]

By |May 23, 2016|

Agronomy: Soybean response to standing water and saturated soils

Soybean planting has yet to begin in earnest in Kansas, based on the USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report from April 25, 2016. Nonetheless, some farmers have already planted some of their soybeans. These beans have gotten off to a very slow start, constrained by rain events and wet soil conditions. Figure 1. Soybean slowly emerging and showing lack of uniformity, planted April 14, 2016. Photo by Ignacio Ciampitti, K-State Research and Extension. Wet soil conditions will slow emergence, make the soil more susceptible to compaction (limiting root growth), and cause poor plant-to-plant uniformity after emergence. Sidewall compaction occurs when [...]

By |May 23, 2016|

Disease Management: Host Resistance to Soybean Diseases – The Best Return on Investment

The first and most economical approach (a.k.a. save money) to manage many of the pathogens that impact soybean in the state of Ohio is to pick varieties that have the right resistance package. If the resistance is effective – then there is no need for any further measures during the season. The soybean plant can take care of itself, especially during years when conditions are favorable for disease development. We routinely use both resistant and susceptible varieties/germplasm in our test locations. Germplasm are soybean lines that may have come from another country or are in the breeding pipeline of a [...]

By |May 20, 2016|
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