In a recent on-line conversation, a farmer wrote that his agronomist recommended planting offensive soybeans in better yielding zones and defensive varieties across hill tops and in poorly drained areas within the same field. He wondered if anyone else had tried this strategy and what they thought of it.

Another farmer commented that he thinks it’s better to find a good variety and plant it everywhere because everything does well on good ground and nothing does well on bad ground. Someone else wrote that they had purchased blended beans (two varieties in a bag) to help increase yields.

Since I definitely have an opinion on this topic – and research to back me up – I’ve decided to use today’s blog post as a means to share with you what we’ve seen work.

I definitely do NOT agree with the member who plants just the “good variety” on all of his ground. We’ve proven over and over again that soybeans like Latham® L2285R, L2635R and L3157R are much better suited to lighter soils (poorer ground) where their taller plant height and growthy characteristics are a definite advantage.

Blended Soybeans

We have customers who request blended soybeans, but to make this work, we take two soybean lines that are very close in maturity (for example, L2082R and L2085R). One is usually a defensive soybean and the other is an offensive one. Seed size is another consideration as the two varieties need to be to as close as possible in size.

Usually, blending works best when you have a problem within a certain area like Iron Chlorosis. Iron Chlorosis can be severe in parts of a field and not a problem at all in other parts of that same field. Blending two soybeans together – one that has great IDC tolerance and one that has average tolerance but is much higher yielding – has worked well in the areas where IDC is a problem. The IDC-tolerant bean will take over in areas where IDC is a problem; the more offensive bean yields better in those areas where it is not, thereby giving the farmer a higher average yield over his entire field.

Variable rate planting could work well in a similar situation but would be even more accurate as you can plant ALL of the IDC-tolerant soybeans in the tough spots and plant just the higher-yielding soybean variety in the other areas. Of course, Iron Chlorosis is just one example of the potential need for variable rate planting. Other possibilities would be planting your taller soybeans on the lighter soils (hills) and planting shorter (more offensive-minded) beans in the bottoms or better soils. You could even do something with SCN-infested areas.

There are lots of possibilities down the road with variable rate planting. And, that’s one thing we’ll be studying as part of Latham’s trademark Seed2Soil® program. Participants in our Seed2Soil program are using “Learning Blocks” to try and obtain the right populations for certain areas of the field, as well as to learn where to place offense and defensive varieties.

Choosing the right soybean varieties is a critical factor for profitable soybean production.  Variety characteristics that can weigh heavily in the decision include: maturity, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, emergence, standability, row spacing and overall plant type. 

Keeping good field records from year-to-year will help determine which characteristics are most crucial when deciding which soybean varieties to plant in a given field in a given year.  If there were problems experienced with soybean fields in the previous year (e.g. Sudden Death Syndrome), remember those fields will most likely be planted to corn this coming year.  There should not be too much emphasis placed on problems from the previous year; it’s more important to check your field records to see what pressures that particular field faced when it was last planted to soybeans.

It’s always wise to spread risk by planting soybeans with different maturities.  To maximize yield potential, choose varieties with a five- to seven-day spread in maturity. Shorter season varieties are at less risk to late-season diseases but limit yield potential.  Make sure the fuller-season varieties you select have good disease packages.   

Planting varieties with disease resistance can be the most effective and the most economical method of disease control. Latham® soybean brands have good resistance or tolerance to the major diseases that occur in our trade territory including: Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN), Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), Brown Stem Rot (BSR), Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), White Mold and Phytophthora. Our 2011 Seed Guide provides a rating provided for each of these on pages 46-47.

If you’re planting soybeans with different herbicide traits (e.g. Roundup^®-resistant versus LibertyLink^®), careful records must also be kept to ensure the herbicide program matches the correct fields.  If you’re using a glyphosate-resistant program (i.e. Roundup) in both corn and soybeans, it’s best to use herbicides with alternative modes of action in a pre-plant or pre-emergent program.  This will help prevent selecting weed populations that grow resistant to glyphosate.

Don’t be afraid to try new soybean varieties, new traits and even new management practices.  Experimenting in your own fields is the only sure way to see if new ideas will work best for you!  If you have questions about what soybean brands might be best for your fields, please contact us with a comment in the field below, send an email to service@lathamhybrids.com, or call
1-877-GO-LATHAM (1-877-465-2842).

Most test plots and research trials have been harvested, and as a result, some Latham® superstars are beginning to shine.  Latham genetics, combined with the Genuity® Roundup Ready to Yield™ Soybeans (RR2Y) technology, is proving to be a winning combination this season.  Following are some early results we’d like to share.

In Group I, Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans L1985R2 topped a plot near Cylinder, Iowa. It was the earliest soybean brand in the plot and yielded 61.3 bushels per acre (bu/A). In Early Group II soybeans, the following showed tremendous results: L2082R, L2084R2 and L2182R2. Latham L2082R topped a plot near Deerfield, Wisc., with 80.1 bu/A and also took first place in Woden, Iowa, with 67.2 bu/A. Latham L2084R2 took top honors in the following plots: Oconomowoc, Wisc., at 71.4 bu/A; Lakota, Iowa, at 66.6 bu/A; Geneva, Iowa, at 67.9 bu/A; and Greene, Iowa, at 57.6 bu/A.

In Mid-Group II soybeans, Latham L2440R2 has been outstanding! It has consistently been at the top of plots all across Latham country including: Corwith, Iowa, at 64.7 bu/A; Britt, Iowa, at 71.1; Colo, Iowa, at 65.8 bu/A; Steen, Minn. at 64.9 bu/A; Floyd, Iowa, at 69.0 bu/A; Fort Dodge, Iowa, at 72.8 bu/A; Galva, Iowa, at 67.6 bu/A; and Humboldt, Iowa, at 60.8 bu/A. Two other soybean newcomers to watch are Latham L2560R, which topped the plot near Stanwood, Iowa, with 72.8 bu/A, and L2648R2 which placed first near Adel, Iowa, with a yield of 72.9 bu/A.