Soybeans can be called the ugly duckling of the crop world. Sometimes slow to emerge, especially under less-than-ideal conditions, soybean fields can look pretty stagey and ragged in late June to early July.
But Ken Currah, with BASF, says that soybeans can really surprise a grower, both in how quickly an uneven field can catch up and by how much yield can be made in August and the later part of the season.
When considering a fungicide program, establishing a low, medium, high risk ranking of fields can pay dividends. But just because a field is uneven or a little behind doesn't automatically zero out the risk level.
Beans tend to even up once the summer solstice has passed and each plant's biology turns its attention to reproduction.
"If we have good fertility underneath them, we have a nice stand, they're well managed, and we get timely rains, beans make yield the last half of the season," Currah says. The fungicide decision, by definition is a plant protection decision remembering that that yield is made later.
Currah adds that uneven stands can catch some farmers by surprise on flowering timing. Whether employing a one- or two-pass fungicide system, early protection on those very first flowers matters. It's a preventative approach to white mould control, he says, so it's better to be a little early than too late.
Website: www.realagriculture.com/soybe...
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