By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

TUSCOLA, Ill. — Despite heavy rainfall this year, soybean yields averaged nearly 60 bushels per acre at a pair of southern Illinois test sites recently.

Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) conducted the soybean trials. Kruger Seed to the top spots at both of these test sites.

At Tuscola, Ill. Kruger hybrid KS-3901 was first with 67.4 bu. per acre. Kruger hybrids secured the top two positions at the Vandalia, Ill. test site.

The rural Douglas County, Ill. farm of John Carmack was the host for the Tuscola trial. F.I.R.S.T. manager Eric Beyers said Carmack’s crops suffered from water damage this year.

“John stated that his fields had too much water this year, stunting some plant growth in depressed areas of the fields,” Beyers explained. “The harvested seed quality was okay. Some samples contained about .5 percent of white-molded seed.”

Kruger’s hybrid KS-3901 was nearly two bushels per acre more than second place. The product had a moisture content of 10.1 percent, and the estimated gross income per acre was $674.

Finishing second and third in Tuscola were a pair of Stone hybrids. Stone 2R3900 produced 66.5 bu. per acre, and Stone 2R3800 generated 65.4 bu. per acre. Both products had a moisture content of 10.2 percent.

The average yield for all 54 tested hybrids at this location was 59.7 bu. per acre.

Beyers planted the field on May 21 at a rate of 140,000 seeds per acre.

“We planted in twin rows spaced eight inches apart on 30-inch centers,” he reported.

Beyers harvested approximately 115,000 plants per acre on Oct. 20.

The soil for the Tuscola test was a Drummer-Flanagan silty clay loam. The field was non-irrigated, and it was moderately drained. Buccaneer pest management was used on the no-till field.

Vandalia, Ill. test

This test plot was on the Fayette County, Ill. farm of Ronnie Sloan. Beyers said the trial was a success despite many challenges.
“This site was only planted a few hours before getting hammered by heavy rains,” Beyers reported. “Somehow it produced very good plant emergence. The harvested plant heights were 36-42 inches tall, and it produced excellent grain quality.”

A pair of Kruger hybrid earned similar results in taking the top two spots. Kruger K2X46A9 won the test with an average of 65.5 bu. per acre. This variety had a moisture content of 8.1 percent and an estimated gross income of $655.10 per acre. Kruger K2x44A9 was second at 65.3 bu. per acre. It’s moisture content was at 8.2 percent, and the estimated gross income per acre was $653.
Kruger hybrid K2X45A9 was fifth in this trial at 63.5 bu. per acre. Other top finishers at this site were Arise 4410R with 64.3 bu. per acre, and Beck’s Hybrid 460NR at 63.6 bu. per acre.

The average yield for all 42 tested hybrids at this location was 58.1 bu. per acre.

The average moisture content for all of the hybrids was 8.3 percent. The trial produced an estimated gross income of $581.40 per acre.
The soil on Sloan’s farm is a Cowden silty clay loam. The field is non-irrigated and it is moderately drained. The previous crop was corn, and the field was conventionally tilled in the fall.

Beyers planted the field on June 10 at a rate of 140,000 seeds per acre. He harvested approximately 120,000 plants per acre on Nov. 6.

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