The Plant Management Network (PMN) has posted several items and links that provide useful information for all soybean producers.

In a Feb. 2015 PMN webinar entitled “Soil Sampling to Make Fertilizer Recommendations”, Dr. Dave Mengel, Professor of Agronomy at Kansas State University, addresses a set of points that should be considered in sampling soil for fertility levels and interpreting resulting data that are obtained from the soil testing lab. These points include where to take samples within a field, the number of samples that should be taken from each designated area, depth of sampling for best results, time of year to sample, proper handling of samples, and the meaning of soil test data. The contents of this webinar complement the information that is contained in the article of this website.

In another PMN webinar entitled “Enhancing the Value of Precision Ag Data with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs)”, Dr. Michael Buschermohle, Professor and Precision Ag Specialist at the University of Tennessee, presents an overview of how UASs can be used as a tool improve precision agriculture data collection. He discusses the many potential applications for UASs, current FAA regulations relating to use of UASs, the two types of UASs currently in the market and how each might be used in directed scouting and mapping for agricultural applications, and challenges in acquiring and processing collected data.

In a Jan. 13 2015 US press release, Syngenta announced the potential for reduced damage from sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean with the addition of Mertect® 340-F (active ingredient thiabendazole–FRAC code 1) fungicide to its Clariva Complete Beans and Cruiser Maxx® Beans with Vibrance® seed treatment products. According to information in the press release, Mertect 340-F has shown consistent yield protection against SDS in four years of testing, and also offers additional activity on seedborne diseases such as Phomopsis. As with all seed treatment products, use only those that contain the component or components that will control your known disease problem or problems. (This announcement neither promotes nor endorses this product for Midsouth soybean producers either alone or in contrast to other similar products. Rather, it is meant to inform you of something new that may be of value in your system if you contend with SDS).

In a Jan. 16 2015 press release, it was announced that USDA’s deregulation of a dicamba-tolerant trait for soybeans clears the way for BASF’s introduction of Engenia™ herbicide (Group 4 MOA), a dicamba-only product for use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. A registration decision by the US Environmental Protection Agency for this herbicide is anticipated to soon follow this deregulation action. In BASF research trials, Engenia dicamba herbicide demonstrated effective control of resistant broadleaf weeds and experienced a very low secondary loss profile (losses due to volatility and drift). Monsanto is responsible for the dicamba-tolerant trait and resulting seed. It is also registering its own low-volatile dicamba formulation (XtendiMax) and a dicamba plus Roundup (Xtend) premix product.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Feb. 2015, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net