AJ Woodyard, Research Agronomy Lead, Advanced Agrilytics
Unsettled weather can sometimes delay soybean planting, creating challenges for growers. As planting dates shift from mid-April to early June, soybeans undergo significant physiological changes, impacting their growth and yield potential. Understanding these changes and implementing effective management strategies can help optimize soybean yields, even with delayed planting.
Impact of Delayed Planting on Soybean Physiology
Soybeans adjust their physiology as planting dates move from mid-April to early June, reducing the growth period by approximately 25 days and 600 growing degree units (GDUs). This quicker maturation limits vegetation growth and reproductive days, resulting in up to 25% fewer total nodes for soybeans planted in early June than those planted earlier. Management strategies are essential to offset these downsides.
Optimizing Light Interception and Field Layout
Light interception is crucial for soybeans. Narrower row spacing can help offset potential yield loss by improving light exposure. The physical layout of the fields also matters as fields with significant slopes and elevation changes will produce fewer nodes per plant. Adjusting plant population can compensate for these variations.
Adjusting Seeding Rates and Maturity Groups
Seeding rate, maturity group, and management strategies are key levers for growers. Unlike corn, soybeans benefit from higher seeding rates as planting dates are delayed. For example, a 5-10% node loss may occur with seeding around May 15, increasing to 15-20% by the end of May. Increasing seeding rates by 10% after May 25 and again by June 5 to increase the total number of seeded plants can help offset node loss per plant. Data shows that higher seeding rates in later planting result in better yields.
Regarding maturity groups, longer-season beans are advantageous for early planting due to higher node counts and faster light interception. For mid-range planting dates in early May, early-season beans perform comparably to long-season beans. If planting is delayed, growers should prioritize early-maturity beans now and finish with later-maturity beans to maximize node count on a late planting date.
Effective Crop Management Strategies
Crop management is crucial for later-planted soybeans. As planting dates are delayed, plants lose days in vegetative growth and reproductive stages (R2 to R4), affecting yield components like pod counts and seed weight. To offset this, extending the plant’s life during reproductive phases is essential. Each milligram increase in seed weight can add approximately one bushel per acre.
Using fungicides, insecticides, and nutrition programs can extend the plant’s life and improve yields. Data indicates that such strategies lead to higher yields, even in later-planted soybean fields. Adjusting seeding rates, selecting appropriate maturity groups, and implementing effective management practices can help offset lost yield potential.
Conclusion
While later-planted soybeans may not produce as much as those planted earlier, diligent planning and management can significantly reduce yield loss. Utilizing specific and actionable data helps growers make informed decisions about seed selection and planting schedules.
“As you get into a later planted scenario, we know yield potential has probably decreased. However, data clearly shows that management decisions, such as increasing seeding rates, can offset some of that lost potential and result in more bushels at harvest.”
AJ Woodyard, Research Agronomy Lead, Advanced Agrilytics
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