Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Richard Petcher

Regional Extension Agent

Agronomic Crops

March 10, 2009

Soybean Planting Time Soon to Come

In 2008, Alabama growers planted 350,000 acres of soybeans.  The average yield of these beans was 35 bushels per acre.  This was one bushel short of the state record.  One hundred fifty thousand of these acres were planted behind wheat. 

Don’t forget the basics.  Soil test and lime.  Inoculate if out of soybeans 2 years or more, and use higher efficiency strains, soybean specific inoculants.  Use seed applied fungicides for no-till, cool or wet soils, and when planting marginal quality seed.  Soybeans are a very poor rotation with peanuts.  They share white mold cylendrocladium blight rot (CBR) and other diseases.  Nematodes have become a major problem in our soybeans.  Look for varieties that are nematode resistant.  Most maturity group (MG) IV and some V have no nematode resistance.  Select varieties for disease resistance, for both soil and foliar diseases.  Use maturity groups spread for timely harvest, to avoid conflicts with corn and other crop harvest, and to receive the right rains and avoid historical rain periods for harvest.   

Plant populations:  Soybeans are very forgiving of a wide range of plant populations:  They can make a good crop from 80 to 200,000 plants per acre.  About 150,000 plants per acre is usually optimum.  So plant about 180,000 seed per acre to obtain this final plant stand.  On a 36 inch row plant 12 seed per row foot.  On 30 inch rows plant 10 seed per row foot.  Increase for tough conditions, imprecise planters or drill.  You can use less seed with precision and also planting slow.  Increase seeding rate when planting early or planting late for a certain maturity group.  Also increase seeding rate when planting on narrow rows. 

Planting date “rules of thumb” for Alabama:  MG IV: early April through early May;

MG V:  May 1 through mid-June; MG VI, VII, VIII:  May 5 through mid-June.

If not planting at the optimum planting time, use closer row spacing and higher populations.  This can compensate for less growth per plant.

Upcoming Programs

March 26, Searching for a New Job, 5:00-8:00 p.m., Baldwin County Extension Office, 302A Byrne Street, Bay Minette.

March 31, "I want! I Want!! I Want!!! Building Good Consumers Child Care Workshop,6:00- 8:00 PM, Baldwin County Extension Office, 302A Byrne Street, Bay Minette.

Call the Baldwin County Extension Office at 937-7176 to register for these programs.

March 18, 2009, Back to the Basics of Management for Profit, “Tools for Management Success”, 6:30 p.m.
Jon Archer Agricultural Center, 1070 Schillinger Road North, Mobile. There is no cost for this program. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by March 13th to the Mobile County Extension Office, at (251) 574-8445 or contact Ken Kelley at (251)238-0373 or Anthony Wiggins at (251) 238-2007. This program is designed to help producers get back to the basics and to make a profit with their cattle in these volatile economic times. Basic topics such as soil testing, soil fertility, plant needs, hay testing, animal nutrient requirements, hay storage, rotational grazing, temporary fences, forages will be discussed. Following the basic fundamentals are the key to your success.

Winter Grazing and Row Crop Cover Crop Field Day: Wednesday, March 18, starting at 10:00 a.m. at the Monroe Gin in Uriah on Highway 21 South. We will meet in the field approximately ½ mile North of the Gin. Speakers, Tim Tucker, producer and Dr. Edzard van Zanten, AU Plant Breeder, Dr. Andrew Price, USDA Tillage Lab, Dr. Ed Jolley, NRCS and Dr. Don Ball, AU Forage Specialist and Regional Extension Agents, Anthony Wiggins, Ken Kelley and Richard Petcher.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.