By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

WINNEBAGO, Ill. — Soybeans overcame poor germination stemming from cold weather in a test plot in Winnebago, Ill., by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.).

The test plots performed well (details on page 13) compared to the rest of the field in the north-central Illinois farm owned by Eric Swanson. Swanson said the field surrounding the test plots yielded 71 bushels per acre.

FS Seeds HS25A02 was the leading yielder in the field with 76.1 bushels, while Kruger K2X24A1 followed closely with 75.2 bushels. Asgrow AG2830 was the third-place finisher with 74.2 bushels.
The test average for all brands tested was 69.9 bushels per acre.
All three top brands were treated with Roundup Ready 2 Yield. The test average stand was 105.2 (multiply by 1,000).

“Final stands at this location were low due to poor germination. After planting, these soybeans experienced a week of cold weather.
Despite low populations, you can see that plants compensated well, based on the yield levels,” said F.I.R.S.T. Site Manager Jason Beyers.
Gross income among the top three varieties was $761, $752 and $742, respectively. Beck XL244NR^GC was a close fourth, with 74 bushels per acre and $740 in gross income. It was treated with Roundup Ready. The test average gross income was $698.90.
Corn treated with Glyfos was the previous crop in the Ogle/Myrtle silt loam, which was non-irrigated and moderately well drained. It was also no-till. The crop was seeded May 5 and harvested Oct. 3.
Moisture was just over 12 percent for the top three finishers, while the test average was 12.4 percent; lodging was at 1 percent. For more in-depth details of this and other tests, visit www.firstseedtests.com