Soybean Update:

Maturity:

We are starting to see differences with maturity lines in the plots and even as we drive around the countryside.  Some pockets of disease are showing up, but there are also a lot of fields turning yellow quickly as they mature.  Fields without fungicide are ahead of those that were sprayed – but will it make a difference in yield?  In our plot the E3 soybeans seem to be maturing ahead of the Xtend soybeans with similar maturity rankings.  These would all have been treated the same so this is an interesting trend we will monitor.

Lodged Soybeans:

There are comments on this below – some will stand up, some will not.  There are many degrees of lodging in the fields.  We’ve been in fields we can easily step over and onto each row, and the next variety is standing perfectly upright.  There is everything in-between, just monitor them as you harvest and realize it may be better to go an angle across the direction they are leaning rather than with and against them.  Hopefully, there won’t be anything that needs to harvested one way to get them.

Disease:

White mold and SDS continue to take some of these soybeans to their knees right before harvest.  The yield damage will be limited due to the late arrival, but the disease will be present going forward and we have built the soil inoculum for when we return to soybeans in these fields.  Keep this in mind for your rotated acres.

Pests:

Waterhemp is the main pest now.  The seeds are viable so unless you pull them and carry them out in a bag, the seed bank is only being built up for the next few years of crops.  Look for particularly bad spots in fields and make note of them.  You may need rescue or cleanup passes in these areas the next few years to keep the weeds from getting out of control.