By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

MARION, Ind. — An easy harvest with average yields in the high 50s was the description for a soybean test plot in northeastern Indiana earlier this month.

The average yield was 57.6 bushels per acre on the Wells County, Ind. field that is owned by Chad Roush. Trisler Seed hybrid 38Z0R2 won the test with 68.1 bu. per acre. This variety had a moisture content of 16.2 percent, and its estimated income per acre was $647.

The test was conducted by Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technolo-gies (F.I.R.S.T.) earlier this harvest season. The soil at this location is a Pewamo silty clay. The field was non-irrigated and well drained. The previous crop on this field had been soybeans treated with glyphosate.

F.I.R.S.T. manager Rich Schleuning planted the field on May 30 at a rate of 175,000 seeds per acre. He harvested 150,100 plants per acre on Nov. 5.

“There was no white mold present in this field,” Schleuning said. “Chad had white mold in other areas.”

Unlike many other areas in the Midwest this summer, dry weather had a minor impact on this site’s performance. “A dry July and August shortened the plant height, which made nodes set closer,” Schleuning explained.

Stewart Seeds 3511R2 finished second in this trial with a 67.4 bu. per acre average. It’s moisture content was 16 percent. A pair of Ebberts products were third and fourth. Ebberts 1365RR earned 65.5 bu. per acre, and Ebberts RR2350 generated 64.6 bu. per acre. Rounding out the top five was Diener 3521CR2 with an average of 63.4 bu. per acre.

There were 35 hybrids tested at this site. A list of all the hybrids in this test is available at www.firstseedtests.com