Soybean Planting Progress--April 23, 2017

The NASS report for April 23, 2017 reveals a very interesting, and I believe, positive outlook for Mississippi soybean producers as they move into the 2017 growing season.

According to the report, 60% of the state’s soybean acres were planted as of April 23. This is a very high percentage compared to the 5-year average of 26% planted by this date. If the 2017 growing season approaches a normal weather pattern, the state should produce a yield that will be in line with the 5-year average of 47.5 bu/acre, or if we are cautiously optimistic, maybe even higher.

Today, I posted the final report from MSPB Project No. 58-2016 entitled “Impact of planting date and maturity group on management strategies for insect pests in soybean”. Major points from that research follow.

•    Soybean yield was maximized for plantings made on Apr. 20. Yield from plantings made after that date decreased by an average 0.39 bu/acre/day.

•    Late plantings of soybean were more vulnerable to high populations of insect pests late in their growing season.

•    No insect management strategy significantly affected yield until the mid-May planting.

Of course, all years are different. The above results do not guarantee that the high percentage of early-planted soybean in 2017 will automatically mean less of an insect problem in the 2017 soybean crop. But these results do indicate that another advantage of early planting is likely to be a lessened requirement for insect management and its associated expense.

When all is said and done, results from agronomic and pest management research in the Midsouthern US overwhelmingly support early planting of soybeans in the region. It is heartening to see that producers are staying the course with this proven management practice.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Apr. 2017, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net