Time To Start Irrigating

Soybeans that were planted in Mississippi in April are now or soon will be at the R1 or beginning bloom stage. In fact, MG IV varieties that were planted in early April started blooming about May 20, and are now approaching the R3 or beginning seed stage.


In an average year, now (early June) is the time to initiate irrigation of these plantings to ensure maximum yield potential. Since May rainfall in many portions of the Delta is more than 2 inches below normal, starting now (if you haven’t already) is especially critical to ensure that soil water supplies do not become too depleted and that the initial irrigation does not take an inordinate amount of time.

For more details on when to initiate irrigation based on planting date, and guidelines for continuing irrigation thereafter, read the Irrigation White Paper on this website.

I encourage you to view the latest Focus on Soybean webcast on the Plant Management Network (PMN) website.  The presentation is entitled "Practical Uses for Soybean Physiology" by Dr. Chad Lee, Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky.

You can view other presentations on the Focus on Soybean homepage.  You can also sign up for the free online PMN Update newsletter.

larryheatherly@bellsouth.net

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