Delayed Soybean Planting - A Yield Perspective

May 29, 2019

By Laura Lindsey

Across the state, soybean planting is still on-hold due to continued wet weather. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on recommendations for June-planted soybeans: https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-12/recommendations-late-planted-soybeans You can also find recommendations for late-planted soybeans in the Ohio Agronomy Guide available to download as a pdf here: https://stepupsoy.osu.edu/soybean-production/ohio-agronomy-guide-15th-edition (click on the picture of the guide to download).

I think June-planted soybeans still have a great deal of yield potential; however, it will depend on how the rest of the year turns out. (Will there be water limitations during pod-setting and seed fill? Will we have an early frost?)

Figure 1. Effect of soybean planting date on soybean grain yield at the Western Agricultural Research Station (WARS) (Clark County) in 2013 and 2014 and the Northwest Agricultural Research Station (NWARS) (Wood County) in 2014.

In Clark County at the Western Agricultural Research Station (WARS), we have observed a 0.6 bu/acre/day reduction in soybean yield (see Figure 1). Soybeans planted on July 2, 2013 yielded close to 60 bu/acre and soybeans planted on July 1, 2014, yielded close to 50 bu/acre. Interestingly, in Wood County at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station (NWARS) in 2014, yield was just over 50 bu/acre regardless of planting date, which spanned from May 8 to June 18. I’ve summarized some of our other late-planted soybean yield data in the table below.

Planting date	County	Average yield (bu/acre)
June 1, 2011 (performance trial)	Preble County	64-71
June 1, 2016 (relative maturity trial)	Clark County	60
June 3, 2011 (performance trial)	Mercer County	57-66
June 4, 2011 (performance trial)	Delaware County	43-56
June 4, 2017 (performance trial)	Sandusky County	57-58
June 5, 2011 (performance trial)	Erie County	59-65
June 6, 2017 (relative maturity trial)	Wood County	50
June 6, 2011 (performance trial)	Henry County	54-56
June 7, 2011 (performance trial)	Fayette County	58-72
June 7, 2011 (performance trial)	Mercer County	53-55
June 8, 2017 (relative maturity trial)	Clark County	60-65
June 9, 2016 (relative maturity trial)	Wayne County	68
June 9, 2017 (relative maturity trial)	Wayne County	55
June 13, 2016 (relative maturity trial)	Wood County	58-61
June 26, 2018 (double crop trial)	Clark County	48
June 29, 2018 (double crop trial)	Wayne County	41
June 29, 2017 (double crop trial)	Clark County	39-47
July 11, 2016 (double crop trial)	Clark County	43