Finally, Some Good News for Prevent Plant Acres
Driving across the northeastern part of the state it isn’t hard to spot fields that were intended for soybeans this growing season, but have unfortunately now become prevent plant acres. The only good news for the soybean grower in this situation is that the impact of leaving fallow acres may be less harmful than you think. Leaving bare ground greatly increases the risk of soil erosion and fallow syndrome for the following crop year if the acre is going into corn. There is no special management required for soybeans following a fallow acre with the exception of weed control [...]
Applying Foliar Fungicide on Soybeans
Many soybeans across the state of Illinois approached the R1 to R3 stage in early August and many growers questioned whether to apply a fungicide. In general, a fungicide application is recommended when the cost of applying the product is outweighed by the yield advantage it provides. As in many other years, the foliar application recommendations on soybeans change based on environment, field disease history, planting date, variety susceptibility to disease, and the list could go on and on. As a standard recommendation, an R3 application of fungicide will typically give the grower the most return on the investment. [...]
How to Recognize Chemical Damage on Soybeans
After this last round of post applied soybean herbicide, I’ve received multiple calls about herbicide damage. There are a multitude of reasons that cause herbicide damage; that is what we are going to dive into today. The best way to start looking at a herbicide concern is to start with the beginning of the season and field history, then work your way towards the plant symptoms you are seeing in the field today. Planting date, trait of soybean planted in the field, herbicide applications from the previous year as well as this year’s herbicide applications, and last year’s and [...]
Is High Yield Even Still an Option for Late Planted Soybeans?
The topic of planting soybeans early and with lower populations was something I talked about in depth with growers as an easy and affordable way to set up soybean field yield potential from the start. Unfortunately, as the weather did not cooperate for much of the state this spring, many plans for early planting and decreased populations began to slip away. With growers looking at fields of soybeans that weren’t planted “according to plan” the question of yield potential often comes up. It is important to remember there are three keys to growing high yielding soybeans and those haven’t [...]
To Keep or Not to Keep?
To keep or not to keep that questionable soybean stand? Soybean growers are facing the tough decision on whether or not they will replant after what has been an extremely wet spring. Many publications state 80,000 plants per acre population will get you 100% of a "normal yield", however it is important to take the increasing calendar date into consideration as well when looking at replanting or leaving the original stand. Nonetheless, we must go back to the basics of soybean replant before any decisions are made. Step 1 – Identifying the Problem: Identifying the cause of the stand [...]
PODCAST: Biological Use in Soybean Production
Samantha Schmidgall, CCA Soy Envoy and sales agronomist with the GROWMARK-FS system in Toluca, Illinois, breaks down the complex sector of biologicals in the latest ILSoyAdvisor Podcast.
Biological Use in Soybean Production
Biological products for soybeans are offered to growers from seed treatment, soil application and post applications all the way through to the reproductive stages. Biologicals, in general, are products created from natural solutions or synthetic equivalents. They can be broken down further into the use goal of the product: Biostimulants are used to enhance plant growth and development. These are often found in a seed treatment mix alongside a fungicide and insecticide to aid in stress tolerance and stand establishment. Biostimulants are the largest portion of the biological space with many options available to growers. Biopesticides are reduced risk [...]
Phytophthora Management in 2019
A question I am often asked is: How should I select soybean varieties when looking at my farm’s history of Phytophthora root and stem rot? With a cool start to the 2018 growing season across the state there were minimal Phytophthora issues at emergence. However, just a few weeks later there were multiple instances of Phytophthora appearing in fields where drought stress had just started to set in, but was quickly followed with heavy rainfalls. When soils are saturated and soil temperatures begin to warm an ideal environment for disease development is created. Looking at a multi-level management approach [...]
Upcoming Technology Choices in Soybeans
There is a lot of talk about the soybean technology trait options growers can choose from in the upcoming years. Between Round Up Ready 2 Xtend®, Round Up Ready 2 Yield®, LibertyLink® and LibertyLink® GT27 all approved for production as well Enlist E3™, Xtend Flex® and MGI (Mesotrione, Glufosinate, and Isoxaflutole) currently in route for foreign approval there are enough choices to make any grower look at their options a little more in depth than in years past. With all these choices, how do growers decide which platform is best for their operation? Going back to the basics and [...]
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