While there are many benefits to planting early, planting too early can have negative impact on yield.  Planting in soils that are too cold or too wet will cause seeds to sit dormant and become more vulnerable to diseases, insects and animal predators.

Let soil temperatures and soil conditions – not the calendar – dictate your planting date. For a map of current soil conditions throughout Iowa, click here. We recommend waiting until soil temperatures in a region reach between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit before you plant soybeans or 50 degrees before you plant corn. Remember, soil temperature for soybean planting is more critical than for corn. The main reason for this is because soybeans can germinate in a soil environment of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, but if the air temperature after germination hits 28 degrees Fahrenheit or less, the young seedling can be killed with the growing point of the plant right at emergence. Adversely for corn, the growing point stays under the surface until much later.

If planting conditions aren’t fit for planting, yield may be sacrificed due to:

• Chilling Injury – Imbibitional chilling can negatively affect both corn and soybeans. This happens often when farmers jump the gun and plant in soils that are too cold. For a seed to germinate, it must absorb water, which usually happens within a few hours of planting. If the water is too cold, tissue damage will occur within the seedling and will either kill it or drastically slow down emergence. This can allow diseases and other problems to enter. Typical symptoms of chilling injury may include a swollen seed that has not germinated, as well as a fragile or absent primary root.
• Soil Compaction – If mud sticks to your tires and ruts are deeper than an inch, the field is too wet to work.  Compaction will likely result, causing decreased germination, root and plant growth, as well as nutrient uptake.
• Soil Crusting – Wet soil at planting can cause a crusted layer to form, which may delay or prevent seedling emergence.  Soybean hypocotyls can easily break as they push through the crust, which may result in significant stand reductions and lower yield potential.

There are several factors to consider when managing soybean production in no-till conditions: variety selection, insect management, disease management, fertility management and weed management.

“Choosing a variety is the single most important decision a soybean producer can make to maximize yield,” says Aaron Saeugling, Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist.  He also recommends that growers choose varieties that have the ability to excel in a given environment because no-till varieties requires more than just picking the highest yield variety in a seed plot.

As for fertility management, Saeugling says fall is the best time to build your farm’s fertility program. You need a quality soil sample for the basis of fertilizer. Click here to read Tuesday’s blog post for soil sampling guidelines.

For more tips on no-till soybean management read the complete article here.

 Source: Iowa Soybean Association’s E-Gold Standard Newsletter.

It’s that time of year when farmers think about fall field operations.  A recent “Wallaces Farmer” article addresses whether or not fall tillage is needed and the difference between fall and spring tillage.

Iowa State University Extension soil management specialist Mahdi Al-Kaisi and his colleague, ISU Extension ag engineer Mark Hanna, provide tips to help farmers decide if fall tillage or spring tillage best fits their operation. When making a tillage decision, these two experts advise farmers to take two things into account: soil conditions and soil management. “These two considerations are critical to achieving the intended results of any tillage system,” said Al Kaisi and Hanna.

They further note that deciding when to till is also dictated by many factors that are not easy to control, including soil moisture conditions and soil temperature. “These two factors can have significant impact on soil fracturing, tillage depth, clod size and level of soil compaction,”  said Al Kaisi and Hanna.

For more tips and guidelines, read the complete article here:

http://www.wallacesfarmer.com/story.aspx/fall/versus/spring/tillage/which/is/better/9/42327