Correlate the variety with your local growing season

Canadians measure a soybean season according to Corn Heat Units (CHU’s).  In the USA they use a Relative Maturity System. The US rating system differs as they account for the fact that soybeans are both daylight & heat sensitive.  Some varieties are more light sensitive than others.  In order to correlate between the US & CDN systems, we use the following as a guideline, from what we’ve researched.

ALL OF OUR VARIETIES ARE IN THE 0.00 CATEGORY

HIGHLY SENSITIVE TO DAYLIGHT

What Heat Unit area are you in?  Download this pdf document with all 3 provinces on it.  

Investigate crop rotation

As a part of your crop rotation soybeans will introduce small amounts of nitrogen into the soil thus a small reduction in fertilizer costs.  Overall soybeans are an excellent rotational crop but can carry some diseases.

Soybean diseases, especially root rot, build up when soybeans are in close rotation.  Lengthening rotations to 3 or 4 years between soybean crops is recommended. 

Dry beans, canola, sunflowers, flax, peas, lentils, alfalfa and buckwheat carry the Sclerotinia fungus.  As well do broadleaf weeds.  Soybeans are somewhat susceptible to sclerotinia in years with high moisture and high seeding rates.   

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) can be devastating to a soybean crop.  In your rotation use SCN non-host crops such as corn, alfalfa, potatoes, wheat, barley and sunflowers.   Peas and beans are hosts of SCN.  Weed control is important because SCN will reproduce on a wide variety of weeds.    However at the moment there are no reported cases of SCN in Manitoba.  

Fusarium root rot can be carried in dry beans.  If this is an issue, avoid dry beans in your rotation.

Roundup Ready ® vs. Conventional

What should you choose?   What advantages does one have over the other?      

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• Field should be relatively free of stones
• If stones are present, field should be harrow packed or rolled.
• Soybeans are adaptable to most soils. They can handle drought and excessive moisture
• Chemical residue may be a concern if using repetitive applications of Assert, Lontrel, Glean and Muster
• Avoid recently manured, fertilized or soils with very high natural fertilizer.

• Approximate seeding date range of May 1st to May 25th. As a loose guideline the latest planting date is June 6th. Planting too early is a risk as a spring freeze may destroy the seedlings.
• Minimum soil temp of 9 degrees Celsius. Planting in cool, wet soil may result in low germination, increased incidence of seedling diseases and poor stands.
• Frost tolerance to -3 degrees Celsius.
• Seeding Rate is 180-200,000 plants per acre. High planting rates may cause yields to decrease in low rainfall years due to drought stress and may lodge more & be susceptible to sclerotinia in good rainfall years. However a slightly higher planting rate can be an advantage in order to provide more height from the bottom pod set to the ground. This is especially true with RR soybeans that tend to be lower set.
• Seed depth should be between ¾” to 1 ½”
• Can be seeded with an air seeder, press drill or row crop planter (with proper plates).
  

RULE OF THUMB:  SMALLER SEED SIZE, LOWERS YOUR INPUTS COST

Illustrated by:

Calculation breakdown:  200,000 plants per acre / Seed Size = lbs per acre  L per acre / 50 lb bags = Bags per acre

Price per bag x Bags per acre = Cost per acre   *we used 200,000 plants per acre in this example & cost of $40 per bag

All Roundup Ready ® soybeans have the tech fee included in the price of the seed.  There is no additional fee per acre on top of that.  You must sign a Tech Agreement & provide your Monsanto Tech # (same # that is used for RR ® canola)

'Roundup Ready is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology, LLC. Monsanto Canada Inc., licensee'

Inoculants are a must.
Note: In order to achieve a 50 bu/Ac crop soybeans requires 250 – 300 lbs of nitrogen/Ac.

• In order to maintain growth and development during flowering granular and liquid nitrogen inoculants increase plant nodulation and maintain nitrogen levels through maturity.

Inoculant use
Suggested Inoculant use is dependant on your seeding system:
Narrow openers (air drills, minimum till openers, press drill) ;Liquid & Granular;
Wide seed pattern (air seeder, discer); Liquid & Peat

Granular inoculants generally work better & are much more consistent in their performance. These only work well in very close proximity to the seed. If you are using a seeding system that does not draw your seed close to the granular inoculant then a liquid and peat system would be the best way to go.

• It is very important that all inoculants and inoculated seed is stored in a dark cool environment.
• Use treated seed as soon as possible after inoculation. (4 hours with liquid product and 24 hours for dry material)

Calculation rates:

Granular =  Acres x 7.5 – 10 lb/ac = Total lbs / 40 lb bag = # of bags

e.g.  80 acres x 7.5 = 600 lbs / 40 = 15 bags

       80 acres x 10 = 800 lbs / 40 = 20 bags     Use 15 – 20 bags

Liquid =  Acres x 1.8 planting rate = Total bu / 40 bu per unit

e.g.  80 acres x 1.8 = 144 / 40 = 3.6 or 4 units

Jumpstart is worth considering on basis of enhancing crop maturity when there are low levels of available phosphate in the soil

Pesticides
Cutworms may be the only real concern as a low level of cutworms can result in considerable plant stand reduction. Use normal control methods such as Lorsban.

Herbicides
Non-GMO varieties are a fairly Non-competitive crop. Recommends applications include:
1. Edge/Treflan
2. Select/Post/Assure
3. Pinnacle
4. Basagran (very expensive)
5. Reflex
6. Odessey & Pursuit
Note with all non-GMO varieties you should avoid fields with Canada or Sow Thistles, Dandelions and Kochia.
Roundup Ready varieties allow the application of Roundup directly to the field after seeding

Spraying a Conventional Soybean
Best crop safety time to spray is between the 2nd & 3rd trifoliate. Avoid tank mixes when possible.
Avoid cool spraying conditions with some herbicides.

Spraying a RR Variety Soybean
Virtually no restrictions as to when & how much you can apply.
Normally there is no need to go over 1 ½ L to 2L per acre (normal rates of ½ L/Ac are used at least 2 times during the season).

Plant Diseases

Iron Chlorosis
 

Iron Chlorosis is an iron deficiency caused by high calcium carbonate & soluable salt levels in the soil, not allowing the plant to absorb the iron.

This in turn causes a yellowing of the plant & a decrease in the disease resistance and lowering yields.

OUR VARIETIES HAVE THE BEST IRON CHLOROSIS RESISTANCE CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET

Phytophthora Root Rot
Not common in this area but has been found in crops in mid-southern North Dakota, phytophthora is a fungus that attacks the root and stem of the plant in the early stages. Substantial yield loss can occur if infected.

Sclerotinia
Also a fungus caused disease, sclerotinia attacks stem, leaf and pods creating a white mycelial (fungus threads) growth on the plant and cause plant decay. Affective crop rotation with plant not susceptible to sclerotinia can reduce effects. Avoid fields with plant species that carry sclerotina such as sunflower, canola and alfalfa. The reality is that soybeans have a relatively low susceptibility to sclerotinia.

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Harvest Tips

• Usually happens 7-14 days after defoliation.
• Late season frost can kill the plant thus stop plant from maturing and leaves you with a green, moist seed. Once pods have met physiological maturity they are safe from frost.
• Use of a Straight combine with a Flex-Header to give maximum yield results.
• Some swathers that are able to cut very low to the ground can be used (such as the MacDon 972). However if you swath be sure to harvest immediately after it hits the ground to prevent rainfall harm to the swath.
• Remember 4 beans per square foot results in a loss of 1 bushel per acre.
• Moisture should be at 13%

Handling and Storage Tips

• Ideally the seed should be stored at 13% moisture. If the product is too dry it becomes difficult to handle and splitting may occur, too moist shrinkage and mold become problems.
• Air circulation is also important to maintain the integrity of the seed.
• Careful handling of the seed to prevent splitting will help reduce dockage and retain the quality of the final product.
• If you are trying to sell to the human consumption market, please keep in mind that splits and cracks are deducted in your final settlement.

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