Want More Yield In 2016?

 

 

 

Can the national average soybean yield reach as high as 85 bushels per acre? Fred Below believes so. The University of Illinois crop physiologist documented more than 100 bushels per acre in field trials in 2015, as he continues to explore the “Six Secrets to Soybean Success.”

 

“Our goal is to evaluate the effect of each of six factors individually and then, more importantly, together in a high-tech systems approach,” he says. “Most Illinois farmers had excellent yields in 2015. We ran seven trials from northern to southern Illinois and saw a 14.7-bushel increase overall in yield between our grower standard practice average and our high-tech system yield.”

 

Below says that standard-practice yield was 70.7 bushels. The high-tech system yield was 85.4 bushels.

 

“The bottom line is that a high-tech system works in soybeans as well as it does in corn,” says Below. “We have validated our six secrets.”

 

Here are the six areas he evaluates, with funding from the Illinois soybean checkoff, and where Illinois soybean farmers can focus in 2016:

 

1. Weather. Near-ideal August weather was the defining factor for Illinois soybean yields in 2015, but Below says some early-season efforts can help reduce the negative impact any adverse weather may have. Protecting soybean seed with pesticide seed treatments and early planting may promote strong root development, alleviate stress and generate soybean vegetative growth and node formation.

 

2. Soil fertility. Below’s past studies show applying fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc and sulfur immediately prior to planting can add almost four bushels per acre. In 2015 trials, adding phosphate alone produced a 5.8-bushel advantage.

 

3. Row spacing. The advantage of narrow rows varies by location and year, but Below finds a two- to nine-bushel advantage for 20-inch rows over 30-inch rows. Narrow row spacings in 2015 trials had a 3.6-bushel-per-acre yield advantage in the standard production system and an 8.3-bushel increase in the high-tech system. “Twenty-inch rows allow quicker canopy closure and greater light interception than 30-inch rows and more canopy air movement than 15-inch rows,” he says.

 

4. Foliar treatments. Foliar fungicides and insecticides applied one time, if needed, at the R3 stage added an average 3.1 bushels per acre. Below notes that more than half a crop’s yield comes from middle nodes, so protecting middle leaves is critical. One more pod per plant can add two more bushels per acre.