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Main ingredients for soybean success
A professor of crop physiology at the University of Illinois says research has shown two primary management components of high yielding soybeans.
Dr. Fred Below says farmers can’t manage the weather, but they can manage planting dates.
“You get the leaf area out there quicker. I’m making full use of that sunlight.” He says, “When I plant early, I end up with an extra node or two, and nodes give me more pods, and pods give me the potential for more seed, and seed drive soybean yield.”
Below says even when planting early it’s key to plant in proper conditions.
“I’m going to say plant soybean like you used to plant corn.” He says, “You know, you knew the temperature was right, but you knew it wasn’t going to have a cold spell the next week. Sort of a different way of looking at the crop. Switch them around.”
He tells Brownfield the other primary variable in a grower’s control is variety selection.
“I can’t tell you how rapidly soybean varieties turn over, and that’s because the new ones have a higher yield potential.” He says, “Variety has about a 30-bushel impact and we have seen that the highest relative maturity for the region typically gives the highest yield.”
Below says other lesser factors for high yielding soybeans are row spacing, foliar protection, fertility, and seed treatments.
Brownfield spoke with Below at the Illinois Soybean Association’s recent Field Advisor Forum in Champaign.
AUDIO: Dr. Fred Below – University of Illinois
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