By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

GREENSBURG, Ind. — Despite dry conditions in Southeastern Indiana during July and August, a test of soybean hybrids enjoyed better than expected yields this harvest season.

Diener hybrid 3820CR generated 57.9 bushels per acre at the Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) test site on the farm of Jeff and Gorden Smiley in Decatur County, Ind. The hybrid had a moisture level of 12.5 percent, and it had an estimated gross income of $637.10 per acre.

The field was a silty clay loam with a .5 percent slope. The location was well drained. The previous crop on this field was soybeans treated with Roundup. It is a no-till field, and Roundup was used again this spring.

F.I.R.S.T. test manager Rich Schleuning said he expected yields to be lower.

“It was a better than expected yield because July and August were so dry,” he reported.

“We started harvesting early in the morning to prevent shatter loss due to the dry conditions. The plant height was 36-38 inches.”
Schleuning planted 210,000 seeds per acre on the Greensburg farm on May 29. He harvest approximately 178,800 plants per acre on Oct. 4.

Other high-producing hybrids in this soybean test include: Becks 399NRR, 57.7 bu./acre; Crows C3916R, 57.2 bu./acre; Diener 3484CR, 56.6 bu./acre; Kruger K-348RR/SCN, 56.5 bu./acre; and Asgrow AG3705, 56.1 bu./acre.

Vandalia, Ill. soybean test

VANDALIA, Ill. — Heavy rainfall damaged the yields at a F.I.R.S.T. soybean hybrid test site in Fayette County, Ill.

Also, there are concerns about soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg counts at this location.

Through it all, Brown Enterprises hybrid 4606NRR scored the highest yield at 56 bu./acre. The hybrid had a moisture level of 11.1 percent, and it had an estimated gross income of $699.90 per acre.

The field was on a farm owned by Ronnie Sloan of rural Vandalia, Ill. The site had a Cowden silty clay loam soil with a 1 percent slope. The field was moderately drained, but there was an abundance of rain to manage this spring.

“There was just too much rain on the beans at this site,” Sloan reported. “That really limited their yield potential.”

F.I.R.S.T. test manager Eric Beyers agreed. “The frequent rainfall caused emergence problems and stand reductions for some varieties in the plot,” he said.

The SCN egg count was an additional worry.

“The SCN egg counts per 100cc of soil for this farm were 500 in June and 6,000 in October,” Beyers explained.

Beyers planted approximately 150,000 seeds per acre at this test site on June 1, and he harvest an estimated 135,400 plants per acre on Nov. 1.

Other top-yielding hybrids at this test were: Trisler 4586RR(CN), 55.2 bu./acre; Stone 3A449NRR, 55.1 bu./acre; and Becks 445NRR, 55.1 bu./acre.

A list of all the varieties in this test is available at www.firstseedtests.com