Soil surface compaction can affect soybean plant height, root growth and development, pod set, and yield

Do you know what herbicide damage in soybeans looks like? Over the past week, I have responded to a number of calls from farmers whose soybeans were showing symptoms of damage from metribuzin herbicide.
 

Over the past few seasons, soybean yields as a whole have been pretty impressive. As a strategy to combat lower grain prices, many farmers are taking a closer look at soybean after soybean, or even continuous soybean, rotations. This is especially true for farmers with acres that may not always be best suited to grow corn. Some things to think about when considering a soybean after soybean scenario are fertility, disease management, planting rate, and weed control. 

“Harvest time is here but my soybeans won’t get fit to harvest!”

A very common, yet intriguing question many farmers have had this fall. I’ve heard numerous remarks such as “my 3.5 maturity soybeans will be ready before my 2.9 soybeans and I planted them at the same time!” So why are soybeans maturing inconsistently? 

Fall fertility decisions in northwest Illinois have traditionally been based on crop removal and recent soil test levels. That may remain unchanged for some in 2015, while others may find the need to adjust levels lower due to economics. The cost to apply major nutrients like P and K have not dropped at the same rate as grain prices, resulting in heightened interest of economical use of these nutrients. Referring to soil test information, P and K can be allocated to only those areas most likely to respond to applications. Be sure to review critical levels of nutrients for corn, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa. The probability and magnitude of return to P and K fertilizer will increase when applied to soil test levels below the critical level.

Harvest is in full swing and now is the time for product evaluations. Many farmers I know do not walk their fields at length to evaluate corn and soybean variety performance on their farm during the summer, but during harvest, you’ve got the best seat in the house — right behind the header. Use this opportunity to jot some notes down as you go from field to field and variety to variety.

This is our one last chance to scout fields and evaluate the year before harvest begins. As you walk corn fields, be sure to evaluate disease levels and look to see which hybrids handled diseases better. Ask yourself if you are happy with your fungicide applications. Look at grain fill and pollination. Take a final assessment of weed control, record notes on what weeds are present and if they need to be targeted next year. In soybeans, be on the lookout for Palmer amaranth. It has been identified in southern Indiana and we do not want to run the combine through a patch of it and spread the seeds out.

With the completion of late-season applications, corn and soybeans are advancing quickly to maturity. But before the combines roll, take the opportunity to evaluate management decisions made throughout the season. Significant differences become more evident as the crop finishes its reproductive phase. The combine will tell us the results, but the most important knowledge is the “why”. Take time, prior to harvest, to discover the “why” in your fields.

Frequent rains have made the 2015 growing season very challenging. Yellow corn and soybeans are something many farmers in Ohio are tired of looking at. As I’ve walked fields, I’ve seen increased disease pressure in corn and soybeans that came in even earlier than last year. These include gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and anthracnose in corn and frogeye leaf spot and septoria brown spot in soybeans. In many fields, disease was of secondary concern due to water damage and nitrogen loss.

This week, central Indiana sales intern Christy Kettler covers the insect and disease presence she has been seeing while scouting area fields. If you have any questions on these findings or want to learn more, please contact your local seed advisor or dealer.