Farms.com Home   News

2013 Soybean Planting Considerations

2013 Soybean Planting Considerations

Fall compaction impacting spring emergence

According to the U.S. drought monitor, most of Ohio has returned to normal soil moisture conditions with the exception northwest Ohio which still has lingering abnormally dry soil conditions (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/).  Most of Ohio experienced drought conditions during the 2012 growing season.  The drought of 2012 may have impacted the seed lot for planting this spring, and many growers have asked “What do we need to consider going into the 2013 planting season?”

Consider soybean seed size:  On average, 2,500 individual soybean seeds make up one pound.  Dry conditions during seed fill can result in smaller than normal seeds (>2,500 seeds per pound).  However, dry conditions early in the growing season followed by August/September rains increased seed size in many areas.  I have heard/seen many reports of seed size being larger than normal.  One source reported seeds as large as 1,700 seeds per pound.  In the Ohio Soybean Performance Trial, soybean seed was close to normal at our Delaware County location.  However, there was a relationship between seed size and relative maturity.  Seed size increased with later maturing varieties.  (There was limited rainfall in August and above average rainfall in September at the Delaware County location.)  Check soybean seed size before planting this year and contact your equipment dealer/operator’s manual to adjust for seed size if planting abnormally large (or small) seed.

Consider soybean seed quality:  Drought can have a negative effect on seed quality.  Federal law requires seed bags to show results of a standard warm germination test, so be sure to check germination results of your seed.  Germination is considered good if it is approximately 95%.  If germination is less than 90%, consider increasing seeding rate.  I talked to a few seed companies this winter and most will not sell seed with poor germination (unless there is a shortage of seed).  To adjust seeding rate because of low reported germination test results, divide 0.9 by the germination rating on the seed tag.  Then, multiple this number by the normal seeding rate.  For example, my seed germination is 80% (0.8) and my normal seeding rate is 160,000 seeds per acre.  First, I divide 0.9 by 0.8.  This gives me 1.125.  Then, I multiply 1.125 by my normal seeding rate of 160,000.  This gives a new seeding rate of 180,000 seeds per acre.

Avoid field operations when soil condition is inadequate.  The fall of 2011 was really wet, which made harvest difficult for many growers.  In some areas of Ohio, harvesting when soil conditions were too wet caused compaction from tire tracks.  Compaction can be decreased during winter freeze/thaw cycles, but during winter 2011/2012, there really weren’t many freeze/thaw cycles.  Soybean germination and emergence were negatively affected by compaction areas from the 2011 harvest (see picture).  So, if possible, avoid field operations when soil conditions are inadequate because you may see uneven soybean emergence as a result.

Source : osu.edu


Trending Video

What's Holding Your Soil Back

Video: What's Holding Your Soil Back

Many things can cause a garden to underperform. In this video we tackle some of the big ones. This video answers: how to make garden soil better, how to properly fix garden soil, how comapction effects soil, what to do about compaction, what to do about poor drainage, and more.