As with corn plants, soybean plants have very defined reproductive stages. These stages are determined based off the size and development of the seed pod at one of the uppermost 4 nodes. It’s important to understand these stages to better understand how certain stresses are impacting yields and knowing when to make proactive and reactive application (fungicides, nitrogen, herbicides). Ultimately, it’s all about selecting strong genetic...
All Posts from July 2018
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July 10, 2018 |
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July 09, 2018 The research and debate on applying supplemental nitrogen (N) on soybeans continues. The ILSoyAdvisor has posted its share of articles on the topic and I have written my portion to answer that question. There is no clear answer and just applying nitrogen can be costly with an added risk of adding more nitrogen to the groundwater—two negatives. After studying the topic for five years and listening to many viewpoints it is hard for me... |
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July 05, 2018 Applying fertilizer is the conventional practice in production agriculture. Growers are using combinations of natural nutrient cycling (soil biology, microbial interactions) and synthetic/chemical fertilizers to feed their crops. The question is, does synthetic/chemical fertility work with natural nutrient cycling? These two approaches are not generally complementary and should be prioritized for the greatest benefit on yield, soil... |
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July 03, 2018 If you took Kelly Robertson’s advice from last month’s blog, you’re on your way to a successful double-crop season. The main drawback is having to deal with Mother Nature. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had excessive rainfall in many areas which slowed wheat harvest and planting of double-crops. Then the heat rolled in, knocking the test weight out of the wheat and producing a bunch of small grains that passed right through the combine... |
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July 02, 2018 Growers want tall soybeans that canopy over the row and have lots of nodes and a few lower branches to produce a lot of pods. Plant these same varieties in Illinois prairie soils and they grow 5 feet tall and begin to lodge with some corresponding yield loss. And the varieties we grow today were largely developed and tested under 30-inch row spacing and still perform best in that 20- to 30-inch spacing. Dr. Richard Cooper, retired... |