Early soybean planting dates – the route to higher yields

In fact, the yield data show that delaying soybean planting will cost the producer about 0.25 to 0.65 bushels per acre for each day of delay after May 1. If you delay planting by just four days, you could be losing one to two-and-one-half bushels per acre. Double or triple those numbers if you delay planting by eight or twelve days.

Many producers often see later planted soybeans catch up in plant height with early May planted soybeans, and assume this means they catch up in yield too. The fact is that late sown plants never catch up in stem node number – they just have longer internodes so are taller. The stem nodes, however, are where you find the flowers, pods, and seeds. If the plant produces more nodes, you get more seeds — it’s as simple as that.

In past years there may have been quite a legitimate concern about the ground being too cold for early May plantings. Today’s new varieties, however, are a lot hardier than the older varieties, and are not affected as much as previous varieties when soil temperatures at planting drop to 45°F. Emergence will be slower, of course, but the early planted seedlings will still emerge earlier than later planted seedlings.

James Specht
Bessey Professor of Agronomy, Lincoln

Copyright 2006 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. All rights reserved.

Published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperating with the counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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