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A combine harvesting soybeans and emptying them into a nearby tractor trailer

Harvesting For Maximum Soybean Yields

Numerous studies have been conducted over the last 40 years on soybean combine losses which show that yield loss can be as high as 15 percent.

A pair of hands holding a soybean sample with three leaves.

Plant Nutrient Analysis: Do your soybeans have the right stuff? 

There has been a renewed interest in taking samples of soybean leaves for nutrient analysis as a quality control tool to ensure soil and the fertilizer programs are meeting the needs of the plant to eliminate nutrients as a yield limiting factor.

SDSU Research Shows Effects Of Volunteer Corn In Corn And Soybeans

In 2007, researchers at South Dakota State University indicated that volunteer corn is much less competitive in corn than soybean. The South Dakota study (Alms et al. 2007) evaluated the full season effect of a range of volunteer corn densities (800-14,000 plants/acre) on both corn and soybean and reported yield losses that ranged from 0% to 13% in corn and 0% to 54% in soybean.

Spring Dandelion Control In Soybeans

Dandelion has become much more of a problem as farming practices have changed. Less tillage and increased use of glyphosate resistant crops along with reduced use of residual herbicides have allowed some perennial weeds such as dandelion to prevail.

a tractor in a field spraying soybeans

Foliar Fertilization for Soybeans

There has been much press and interest for foliar fertilization of soybean - especially for micronutrients based on plant analysis. In general, foliar fertilization has not proven effective unless there is severe deficiency of a particular nutrient.

A bare crop field ready for planting

Nitrogen Credit: The Rest of the Story

We have all been programmed to think of soybean as fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and adding nitrogen to the soil. The SDSU lab and most other labs give nitrogen “credit” when another crop follows soybeans.

A group of grain bins with a green harvester in front.

Soybean Drying and Storage

Why dry crop seeds artificially when they can be naturally dried in the field? Two major reasons are: i) allows harvesting when the crop is ripe and mature, and ii) proper storage that preserves seed quality.

beetle with metallic green head and red wings resting on soybean leaf

Japanese Beetles

Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) are pest beetles feed on trees, ornamental plants and food crops.

A soybean field with green soybeans and patchy yellow areas.

Yellow Soybeans

Yellow soybean areas within fields are being noticed in some areas of the state. There are six factors which could be causing the soybean plant yellowing: nitrogen (N), potassium (K), or sulfur (S) deficiency, iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC), soybean cyst nematode (SCN), or yellow flash from Roundup application.

A soybean stem with several small nymphs and adults on it.

Why the 250 Threshold is Still Appropriate for Soybean Aphids

When gearing up for soybean aphid scouting, it is important to think about the population densities that warrant insecticide management.