Soybean management practices in

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

are the decisions a producer must make in order to raise a

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropo ...

. The type of

tillage Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoe ...

, plant population, row spacing, and planting date are four major management decisions that soybean farmers must consider. How individual producers choose to handle each management application depends on their own farming circumstances.

Tillage

Tillage is defined in farming as the disturbance of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

in preparation for a crop. Tillage is usually done to warm the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

bed up, to help dry the seed bed out, to break up

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

, and to reduce early

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

pressure. Tillage prior to planting adds cost per acre farmed and has not been shown to increase soybean yields significantly. “ No till” is the practice of planting seed directly into the ground without disturbing the soil prior to planting. This practice eliminates the tillage pass, saving the farmer the associated costs. Planting no-till places seed directly into a cooler and wetter seed bed, which can slow

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

.Robert G. Hoeft, Emerson D. Nafziger, Richard R. Johnson, and Samuel R. Aldrich . Modern Corn and Soybean Production. '1st ed. Champaign, IL: MCSP Publications, 2000. This process is considered a good conservation practice because tilling disturbs the soil crust, causing

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

. The practice of no-till is currently on the rise among farmers in the midwestern United States.

Plant population

Plant population is the number of

seeds A seed is an Plant embryogenesis, embryonic plant enclosed in a testa (botany), protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, includ ...

planted in a given area. Population is usually expressed as plants or seeds per acre. Plant population is one of two major factors that determine canopy closure (when the plants cover the space in between the rows) and other yield components.Pedersen, Palle. "Soybean Production." Iowa State University Soybean Extension and Research Program. 4, January 2008. Iowa State University Extension. 20 Feb 2008 . A higher seed population will close the canopy faster and reduce soil moisture loss. A high plant population does not necessarily equal a high yield. The recommended seeding rate is 125,000 to 140,000 seeds per acre. The goal is to achieve a final stand of 100,000 plants per acre. Planting the extra seed gives the producer added insurance that each acre will attain a final stand of 100,000 plants.

Row spacing

Row spacing is the second factor that determines canopy closure and yield components. Row spacing can either refer to the space between plants in the same row or the distance between two rows. Row spacing determines the degree of plant to plant competition. Rows planted closer together in a population will decrease the space between plants. Closer row widths increase plant to plant competition for

nutrients A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excr ...

and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

but also increase sunlight use efficiency. According to former Iowa State University Soybean Extension Specialist Palle Pedersen, current recommendations are to plant rows that are less than 30" apart. This increases light interception and decreases

competition.

Planting date

Planting date refers to the date that the seed is sown. This concept is of prime importance in growing soybeans because yields are strongly correlated with planting date. Data from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

shows that earlier planted soybeans tend to have higher yields than soybeans planted later in the growing season. Producers seeding early need to check that the seedbed is in the right conditions (

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...

moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapo ...

) since planting into a sub-optimal seedbed will lose yield instead of gaining it. Other special considerations include soil pathogens, insect pressure, and the possibility of

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above- freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

. Fungicide treatment and insecticide treatment are options used to help reduce the risk of soil

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a ger ...

and insect pressure. Knowing the chance of frost in a given area prior to planting helps determine how early seed can safely be sown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soybean Management Practices Agronomy Crops Soybean industry

Tillage

Plant population

Row spacing

Planting date

See also

References