In-Field Management of Soybeans: Looking for a ‘Strong Year in 2020’
June 29, 2020 Like every other sector in agriculture during 2019, soybeans were extremely challenged by in-field conditions. As Greg Tylka, Nematologist at Iowa State University (ISU) and leader of The SCN Coalition, explains: “It was a long, late, wet harvest in 2019 for a lot of farmers, which unfortunately stretched into 2020 for some.”
Luckily, 2020 is shaping up to be a better year for soybeans thus far — at least in terms of timing. Other issues might crop up, however. “Growers are planting soybeans earlier this year than in years past, which in return will produce different issues that will affect the crop,” says Robert Ruebel, Vice President, Nachurs Branded Products for Nachurs. “Early season diseases could affect crops that will not be noticed unless a proper crop scouting procedure is followed. There were soybeans in certain areas killed by early frost which resulted in some replanting.”
David Dyson, Agronomist at The Andersons, agrees with this assessment for soybeans. “The spring season has been favorable for planting and allowed many growers to get their crop in earlier than the last few seasons,” says Dyson. “In some areas, we were seeing the crop slow down due to compaction from last year’s wet weather and then the cold conditions we experienced in May this year. However, the potential for high yields is still good. Anything we can do to help soybeans overcome early stresses will help protect their high potential throughout the season. If we take an integrated pest management (IPM) approach and piggyback nutrients as needed, we should see growers have a good crop at harvest, as long as the weather cooperates.”
Ground, Truth
According to ISU’s Tylka, proper ground management is a good first step for 2020 soybean growers and their ag retail partners to take. As he points out, soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the most damaging pathogen for U.S.-grown soybeans, estimated to cost farmers more than $1 billion annually in lost yields. “You can be losing anywhere from 10% to 30% of yield without seeing any aboveground symptoms from SCN,” he says. “If you don’t know what your SCN numbers are in your fields — or know whether you have SCN-infested fields — soil testing is the first step.”
Tylka recommends waiting until the soil warms up and fields aren’t muddy before gathering soil cores. As for where to put the probe, there are three approaches to soil sampling, he adds.
“You can zigzag your way through each 20-acre parcel,” he says. “Or, you can collect soil cores from high-risk areas, such as high-pH spots, low spots, near fence lines, and other areas where soil from other fields may have been introduced. Or you can pull samples from logical areas or management zones in the field.”
In addition to soil sampling, many in-field experts say that proper crop nutrients can aid soybeans during the growing season. In fact, according to The Andersons’ Dyson, there are several options available to accomplish this. “For early applications, my recommendation is for growers to provide an early season boost with Phosfix, which is a powerful combination of macro and micronutrients with growth and plant enhancers,” he says. “Phosfix’s double barrel carbon delivery system utilizes the efficiencies of a proprietary sugar sources in conjunction with a fulvic acid accelerator. Phosfix contains cytokinin, gibberellic acid, and auxins to help with cell division, cell elongation, and cell differentiation, respectively.”
Once soybeans hit their reproductive stages, Dyson says the amount of potassium, boron, manganese, and molybdenum needed to achieve plants’ full yield potential increases exponentially. “I like to position The Andersons Eezy Moly-B at the R1 stage since this product has a hefty dose of both molybdenum and boron, and then follow with OverPass SF at the R3 stage, which SF provides N-P-K plus manganese and boron,” he says. “Both products can be piggybacked with herbicide, insecticide, and/or fungicide applications. Adding a foliar fertilizer, especially during a stressful year, can boost yield even when yields seem to be at the top.”
Nachurs’ Ruebel offers up some similar suggestions, many utilizing the company’s Bio-K technology. “The combination of K-Fuel (0-0-24) applied with Finish Line, a combination of micronutrients, has been our most versatile and complete recommendation for growers,” he says. “The K-Fuel provides the crop with added potassium to help with heat and drought stresses as well as aids in helping the crops overall health and nutrient uptake. Finish Line is a micro package with a high rate of zinc and manganese. It also has fulvic acid and compatibility agents, which improve efficacy of pesticide treatments.”
The Need for Seed Treatments
Following early season planting recommendations, in-field experts say that using fungicide seed treatment can greatly reduce the risk of poor stands in soybeans. This is especially true for early planted soybeans, which analysts say are usually planted at lower populations.
For soybeans in 2020, one of the newest options is Trunemco from Nufarm Americas Inc. According to the company’s Kenneth Barham, Vice President Customer & Brand Marketing, Trunemco is a nematode seed treatment solution featuring the active ingredients cis-Jasmone+bacillus (amyloliquefaciens strain MBI 600). “This patented technology primes plant physiology, activating the defense system, providing broad-spectrum protection against nematode invasion,” says Barham.
Another new seed treatment for soybeans in 2020 is Vayantis from Syngenta. Featuring the active ingredient picarbutrazox (developed by Nippon Soda), Vayantis can be used to control both pythium and phytophthora.
“It will be used in combination with Apron to complement genetic tolerance or even resistance in specific crops,” says Michiel De Jongh, Global Head of Syngenta Seedcare.”
In addition, Syngenta has also introduced Saltro fungicide seed treatment for soybeans. Containing the active ingredient pydiflumetofen (branded as Adepidyn), Saltro can be used to treat sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybeans. “In the field, we’ve seen consistently improved yields compared with Ilevo seed treatment, regardless of SDS pressure,” says Dr. Dale Ireland, Technical Product Lead for Syngenta Seedcare. “Lab tests have proven Saltro provides more activity against SDS, even at lower levels of active ingredient.”
For the Plants
For emerged plants themselves, there are a few new options coming for the 2020 growing season. One of these is Regev from Summit Agro USA. Marketed as the first hybrid fungicide for U.S. agriculture, Regev combines a botanical product with a conventional fungicide.
“Regev brings together tea tree oil and difenoconazole, giving growers across a variety of crops a very effective disease control product, while reducing chemical usage and providing effective resistance management control,” says Fred Yates, Marketing Manager for Botanical Products for Summit Agro. “The preventative and curative activity of Regev with a broad crop and disease control label, plus its ability to enhance plant growth and yield, all provide significant value to growers.”
According to Yates, the hybrid nature of Regev means users can reduce the crop protection products load in treated crops, “which differentiates it from conventional options.” Regev will be introduced in major crops such as soybeans, rice and potatoes as well as specialty crops.
So, what is the outlook for the rest of the year for in-field management? While much attention has been paid to the coronavirus pandemic thus far, many in-field experts say another issue could come to forefront instead for soybean growers — lower commodity prices. “With the COVID-19 quarantine, last year’s late spring, and then the favorable conditions this spring, growers were anxious to get out and do fieldwork earlier than normal,” says The Andersons’ Dyson. “Early planted soybeans always out-yield later planted soybeans. Growers may be a little hesitant to invest in their soybean crop this year with lower commodity prices. However, growers may be able to make up for the price differences by pushing their yields. When they are making their pesticide applications, including a cost-effective foliar fertilizer to help the crop recover from those applications and provide essential nutrients at critical growth stages will help them to realize their full yield potential.”
Nachurs’ Ruebel agrees. “Low commodity prices will always give some growers a reason to question if doing additional in-season management practices will produce a positive return-on-investment,” he says. “For the most part, growers will do what is needed to maximize yields if weather conditions are favorable to produce a high yielding crop.”
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