Frost and Hail

Early Season Damage Temperatures as low as -2 °C can be tolerated for short periods of time when soybeans are just emerging or at the VC growth stages. Young plants at the VC stage are slightly more frost tolerant compared to soybeans at the V1 or V2 growth stage. Once trifoliate leaves are present plants […]

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Drying Soybeans

Many IP varieties should not be artificially dried, especially with heat. Producers should contact the buyer concerning acceptable moisture levels and possible drying of IP soybeans. Grain Dryers The three basic general types of grain dryers used on farm are: No single drying system is superior to others in every respect. System selection is dependent […]

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Harvest Losses, Quality, and Storage

Soybeans are direct combined, preferably with a combine equipped with a floating flexible cutter bar and automatic header height control. Although soybeans must be stored at a moisture level of 14% or less, they can be harvested when their moisture levels are less than 20%. Harvest losses and mechanical damage may be high when soybeans […]

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Pre-Harvest Herbicide Timing

A pre-harvest herbicide treatment can make harvest more efficient when there are an unacceptable number of weeds in a soybean crop. Both conventional and glyphosate tolerant fields that are weedy can benefit from a pre-harvest herbicide. Drier plant matter will pass more easily through the combine, lowering seed losses and reducing seed staining. Appropriate product […]

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Estimating Soybean Yield

The precise yield of a soybean field is notoriously difficult to predict before harvest. This is because seed size can vary by over 30 percent and zones within a field can have drastically different yields depending on soil water holding capacity, disease pressure, topography, etc. Plants with low pod number and combine harvest losses also […]

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Plant Tissue Analysis             

Soybean leaf tissue analysis involves sampling the top fully developed trifoliates (three leaflets plus petiole) at first flowering. Take at least 20 trifoliates collected randomly from the area in question. Table 1, Interpretation of Plant Analysis for Soybeans, shows expected values at first flower. It’s important not to contaminate leaf tissue with soil. Do not […]

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Manganese

Manganese (Mn) is the only micronutrient deficiency diagnosed in soybeans across a wide acreage annually in Ontario, although zinc deficiency may appear where the topsoil has been lost through erosion. Manganese deficiency symptoms appear on upper leaves, ranging from pale green (slight deficiency) to almost white (severe deficiency) with green veins, see figure 1. Soil […]

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Potassium and Phosphorus

Potassium is the most important macronutrient required for soybean production in Ontario. Many Ontario soybean fields show potassium deficiency symptoms each year due to the large amount of potassium soybeans require, and the inability of soybean roots to take up potassium in dry soil conditions. Symptoms include yellowing and eventually browning of the margins of […]

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Sulphur

Sulphur (S) is an essential nutrient necessary for plant growth. It plays an important role in nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis, and protein formation. Over the past decades, air-borne S emissions have drastically reduced in the Great Lake Basin, reducing the amount of S available to crops. Much like nitrogen, S moves downward with soil water through […]

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Nitrogen

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are not usually required for soybeans as they obtain most of their nitrogen through biological N fixation and residual soil N reserves. See factsheet, Inoculation and Nodulation. Annual inoculation with the rhizobia Bradyrhizobium japonicum, ensures adequate nodulation and has provided a small yield benefit even in fields with a history of soybeans […]

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Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms         

Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms Causes of Deficiency Effect Photo Nitrogen Pale green plants Appear first and are more severe on older leaves since nitrogen is a mobile nutrient in plants Consistent across leaves (veins are also pale) Poor nodulation Excessive rainfall, causing nitrate leaching or denitrification due to prolonged standing water Temporary deficiency symptoms can occur […]

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Replant Decisions

Compared to corn and wheat, soybeans are more prone to poor stand establishment because the seedling must pull the cotyledon seed leaves through the ground to emerge. Deciding whether it is worth replanting a poor stand can be difficult because plant stand reductions are rarely uniform. Often, it is best to treat parts of a […]

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Land Rolling

Land rolling helps conserve moisture and prepare a field for harvest. If conditions are very dry, rolling can improve emergence from moisture conservation and better seed-to-soil contact. Rolling can help level the soil and push rocks into the ground, making it possible for the combine header to do a better job. Small yield gains have […]

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Planting Depth

A seeding depth of 3.8 cm (1.5 in.) is generally a good target depth for soybeans. Seeding depth when planting early into no-till conditions can often be reduced to 2.5 cm (1 in.) if there is sufficient soil moisture. However, due to the high-water demand for germination, plant 1 cm into moisture (0.5 in.), but […]

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