Soybean row spacing and population

[Marty Edwards]

If all goes according to plan, I’ll be planting my soybeans with a drill vs a planter this yr. I really think I want to go 7.5” rows for quicker canopy & weed suppression. Have a field that likes to grow pigweed & Waterhemp and I want to see if 7.5” rows will help. I’m thinking 200k population +/-.

In the past I’ve used my 3 row planter on 30” spacing and then split the rows so I ended up with 15” rows.

So question for the guys who have experience…what population do you typically plant at when using 7.5” rows, did you see a difference in weed suppression? Some say 140k some say upwards of 200k.

One plot is 2 acres and the other is about 4. I did learn from experience that without e-fence, my 2 acre plot never got past 6” tall due to browse pressure.

Last soybean question, what pre-emergent are you using that has good residual control of pigweed, Waterhemp, marestail?

Thank you!

 

[Tmayer13]

Population does not exactly apply to row spacing. But I can tell you from the AG world that lower populations are pretty popular right now. Planting 130-145k is what a lot of producers are currently doing. I would say that if you are fencing your beans then browse pressure is a non-issue so I would just plant 140 and move on.
And as far as weed suppression, in my world it's a comparison of 15" to 30" rows. It's all year dependent. Some years the 30" beans do better and some years its the 15" beans. And honestly talking to all the farmers the 15" beans will get the same number of weeds as the 30". So, I wouldn't plant 7.5" beans thinking its going to be a cure all for weeds. Just stick to a good herbicide regimen and you will be fine.

 

[Snail3496]

I've been chewing on the same thing recently! Been planting my beans on 30"s for years and will have a drill for the first time this spring. Wondering if I should do 7.5 or 15 in the water hemp fields?

For pre I have been using Outlook for a few years and it works great on pigweed and water hemp. Will no till plant, burn down same day, then come back mid summer with enlist duo & Outlook and will have squeaky clean 30" beans from there. I top dress rye and greens into them in Sept and they still germ, so it must wear off around then.

 

[northcedar]

Lower pops will branch out better. Higher pops will get taller, if you can actually get them past the early browse phase. I'd probably go around 175K on 7.5" rows. Authority products are popular.

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

I drill at 180k

 

[Marty Edwards]

Good feedback and much appreciated!

What about brand/variety of beans that are best at shatter resistance? I have planted a couple of different VERY well known brands that are targeted at deer hunters/plotters in the past and they both shattered worse than any ag soybean I’ve ever planted…not by a little, it was bad.

Another thing that comes into play imo is bean palatability. I don’t think all bean pods are created equal in that regard.

 

[booneriverbucks]

Lots of theories on beans. Seems like we end up with more questions than answers every year no matter what is tried. I don’t really have any answers and although I understand the thinking on the weed suppression with 7.5 inch rows with high population I just kind of doubt you’ll see much difference. Or will at least not see any major difference from 15 or 30. It’s always just kind of a crap shoot. Actually had a guy plant 10 acres of beans by us about two weeks ago just to see how it goes. Same guy planted 80+ bushel beans in a test plot last year in early march. It’s not that 7.5 rows can’t produce it’s just that weed suppression never seems to be guaranteed. Anything is worth trying tho.

Sorry- to be more clear on average 7.5 can help with suppression but haven’t noticed a huge difference in population consistently effecting weed suppression when people go that high. I think the guys going for 170-180 are probably right. Don’t think going higher will necessarily help

 

[Tmayer13]

Good feedback and much appreciated!

What about brand/variety of beans that are best at shatter resistance? I have planted a couple of different VERY well known brands that are targeted at deer hunters/plotters in the past and they both shattered worse than any ag soybean I’ve ever planted…not by a little, it was bad.

Another thing that comes into play imo is bean palatability. I don’t think all bean pods are created equal in that regard.

I honestly believe this is an untapped subject matter. I can tell you that I will never plant an enlist bean again as I believe they are not as palatable as other varieties. Its interesting that you bring this up because just this morning I was listening to a podcast , long story short Mark Drury had a crop failure and only wanted a bean that was yellow in color. Said that deer liked them better. I know nothing more than that but it is truly interesting to think about

 

[booneriverbucks]

I honestly believe this is an untapped subject matter. I can tell you that I will never plant an enlist bean again as I believe they are not as palatable as other varieties. Its interesting that you bring this up because just this morning I was listening to a podcast , long story short Mark Drury had a crop failure and only wanted a bean that was yellow in color. Said that deer liked them better. I know nothing more than that but it is truly interesting to think about

Good point!! Honestly I think there are too many variables to easily judge. I think nutrient quality of the field and that years weather play a factor and it’s always a moving target

 

[Marty Edwards]

I honestly believe this is an untapped subject matter. I can tell you that I will never plant an enlist bean again as I believe they are not as palatable as other varieties. Its interesting that you bring this up because just this morning I was listening to a podcast , long story short Mark Drury had a crop failure and only wanted a bean that was yellow in color. Said that deer liked them better. I know nothing more than that but it is truly interesting to think about

That’s interesting. I have not heard that podcast nor heard anyone else talk about it. My observations are purely my own, and anecdotal. Many years ago, when I planted my 1st bean plots, I honestly thought a bean was a bean. I was planting any free leftovers a farmer would give me. I got fancy for a few years and tried some different Eagle seed beans, tried some RWW beans & mostly (just my own personal experience) decided the “specialty deer beans” were not magic beans at all. They shattered worse and left mushy beans all over the ground. I’ve gone back to ag beans since and have noticed that year to year, there seems to be a difference in the draw that they have. Soooo many variables, moisture, heat, timing of each, fertility, deer density fluctuations, and on & on. So again, all purely anecdotal, but was wondering if anyone had experienced the same and had a “no brainer” bean that produced a bunch of highly palatable pods that don’t shatter…the bean panacea, I guess.

 

[Sligh1]

FIERCE XLT is your herbicide.
A big bowling ball sized bean is your seed … plant earlier & get a longer maturity bean. Our Pioneer friend will get you the right bean!!!

 

[Tmayer13]

FIERCE XLT is your herbicide.
A big bowling ball sized bean is your seed … plant earlier & get a longer maturity bean. Our Pioneer friend will get you the right bean!!!

Can you speak to anything to do with color as mentioned earlier?

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

 

[MN Slick]

I honestly believe this is an untapped subject matter. I can tell you that I will never plant an enlist bean again as I believe they are not as palatable as other varieties. Its interesting that you bring this up because just this morning I was listening to a podcast , long story short Mark Drury had a crop failure and only wanted a bean that was yellow in color. Said that deer liked them better. I know nothing more than that but it is truly interesting to think about

I agree, there is something about Enlist beans they don't like. We can get a good stand on a 1/2 acre plot and there were still beans avaiable 2 weeks ago.

 

[Marty Edwards]

FIERCE XLT is your herbicide.
A big bowling ball sized bean is your seed … plant earlier & get a longer maturity bean. Our Pioneer friend will get you the right bean!!!

Skip, is Fierce XLT a liquid or granular herbicide? I’m finding conflicting info on the Google machine. Found a jug on keystone pest solutions that is listed as $599.00 for “6 pounds” rather than listing the volume by gallons. The jug looks like it should be a liquid…but why is the jug labeled as “6 pounds”

Looks like 5.25 oz per acre is max app rate so a 6lb jug should treat a fuzz over 18 acres. If my math is good, that’s about $33 per acre to apply the product. Worth it if I can clobber the pigweed and Waterhemp.

Also, are you mixing with MSO? AMS? Both?

Lastly, the label has very specific tank cleaning instructions and says need to use a specific Fierce XLT tank cleaning solution mfg by Valent. Is that what you do?

Thank you!

 

[tall@wide]

I agree, there is something about Enlist beans they don't like. We can get a good stand on a 1/2 acre plot and there were still beans avaiable 2 weeks ago.

Were your enlist beans treated? I planted untreated enlist beans last spring and the deer hammered them too much. It really limited my yield and the beans that did pod out, got hammered this fall.

 

[Sligh1]

Skip, is Fierce XLT a liquid or granular herbicide? I’m finding conflicting info on the Google machine. Found a jug on keystone pest solutions that is listed as $599.00 for “6 pounds” rather than listing the volume by gallons. The jug looks like it should be a liquid…but why is the jug labeled as “6 pounds”

Looks like 5.25 oz per acre is max app rate so a 6lb jug should treat a fuzz over 18 acres. If my math is good, that’s about $33 per acre to apply the product. Worth it if I can clobber the pigweed and Waterhemp.

Also, are you mixing with MSO? AMS? Both?

Lastly, the label has very specific tank cleaning instructions and says need to use a specific Fierce XLT tank cleaning solution mfg by Valent. Is that what you do?

Thank you!

U can buy lower qty’s if u want or just split a jug with someone.
I mix with gly & 2,4-d at burn down. The label will have all the details though. I’ve used general tank cleaner & rinsed a few times but I Spose if a guy wants to follow label right…. Sure is an option.

To cover it all…. There’s actually a gazillion other options too so pick what works best for your situation….

 

[Sligh1]

I honestly believe this is an untapped subject matter. I can tell you that I will never plant an enlist bean again as I believe they are not as palatable as other varieties. Its interesting that you bring this up because just this morning I was listening to a podcast , long story short Mark Drury had a crop failure and only wanted a bean that was yellow in color. Said that deer liked them better. I know nothing more than that but it is truly interesting to think about

Dunno on the color to precisely answer but I have heard that discussed.
If u do get a big bean …. I gonna GUESS the color will be different. I might be wrong on that …. But it’s the bean size I’ve noticed. Anytime I plant a BIG bowling ball type bean- they eat it. New genetics USUALLY have small dense beans. That’s the issue I’ve focused on and they always pound em.

 

[Snail3496]

Dunno on the color to precisely answer but I have heard that discussed.
If u do get a big bean …. I gonna GUESS the color will be different. I might be wrong on that …. But it’s the bean size I’ve noticed. Anytime I plant a BIG bowling ball type bean- they eat it. New genetics USUALLY have small dense beans. That’s the issue I’ve focused on and they always pound em.

I can't tell if you're being funny or not with the bowling ball talk. So you're saying the SEED bean you're planting needs to be larger than average? and it will inherently produce pods with larger beans in it?

Does the larger bean have better flavor? What's the attraction? Never heard anyone mention the size of the beans being a important. People only talk about oil, shatter resistance etc. Figured size was relatively standardized, wow!

Love this place - not going to find seasoned bean nerds like this on facebook!!

 

[Sligh1]

I can't tell if you're being funny or not with the bowling ball talk. So you're saying the SEED bean you're planting needs to be larger than average? and it will inherently produce pods with larger beans in it?

Does the larger bean have better flavor? What's the attraction? Never heard anyone mention the size of the beans being a important. People only talk about oil, shatter resistance etc. Figured size was relatively standardized, wow!

Love this place - not going to find seasoned bean nerds like this on facebook!!

Ha. Ya- on this one I’m being serious.
So- I am just using the phrase to say “we want the biggest size possible”. & there’s a lot of seed size variety. They breed beans to be smaller & more dense - because they weigh more per bushel. Small dense hard beans are not best for eating raw but that’s not what matters for farming. A bigger bean will be far easier to chew, Increasing flavor & desirability. Also- can’t emphasize enough…. Get PH as good as possible with plenty of calcium. Then have micros & macros right. High calcium impacts flavor, same with macro/micros. The PH being right allows the plant to uptake all of that - impacting flavor substantially.

 

[Snail3496]

What about brand/variety of beans that are best at shatter resistance? I have planted a couple of different VERY well known brands that are targeted at deer hunters/plotters in the past and they both shattered worse than any ag soybean I’ve ever planted…not by a little, it was bad.

Another thing that comes into play imo is bean palatability. I don’t think all bean pods are created equal in that regard.

I have done similar. This year's deer brand was RWW. I planted RWW gen 2 RR in the same field as enlist ag beans I've used for years. 3 fields, 2 different properties. All side by side. The RWW are taller and a prettier yellow. They LOOK tasty, but have witnessed zero favorability by the deer once dried down and all late season. There was MUCH more summer browse on the RWW though.

Majority of farmers in my area plant 2.8 & 2.9s. The latest I can get from the locals are 3.7s and have slowly switched over to exclusively 3.7s after noticing a big difference.

I have not noticed the RR vs Enlist attractiveness difference, but I am the only one with standing beans in my areas. My guess is in a competitive, managed area with lots of standing grain, it'll probably matter. I just have the only food.