November 23, 2020
TRIAL OBJECTIVE
XtendFlex® soybeans is a new trait platform available for farmers to plant in the spring of 2021.
The objective of this trial was to help answer questions regarding the impact of planting rate on three XtendFlex soybean products across two planting dates.
RESEARCH SITE DETAILS
| Location | Gothenburg, NE | ||
| Soil Type | Hord silt loam | ||
| Previous Crop |
Corn | ||
| Tillage Type |
Strip till |
| Planting Date | 5/20/20 & 6/12/20 | ||
| Harvest Date | 10/2/20 & 10/9/20 | ||
| Potential Yield (bu/acre) |
80 | ||
| Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
40K, 80K, 120K, 160K, 200K, 240K |
- This trial was a split plot design with planting date as the whole plot, seeding rate as the sub plot, and soybean product as the sub-sub plot.
- Planting dates:
- May 20, 2020
- June 12, 2020
- Seeding rates:
- 40,000 seeds/acre
- 80,000 seeds/acre
- 120,000 seeds/acre
- 160,000 seeds/acre
- 200,000 seeds/acre
- 240,000 seeds/acre
- Soybean products, by maturity group (MG):
- 2.3
- 2.5
- 2.7
- Trial was sprinkler irrigated.
- Nutrient application included 27.5 lb N/acre, 15 lb S/acre, and 70 lb P/acre strip-till applied prior to planting.
- Weeds were controlled as needed and no additional fungicide or insecticides were used.
- The May 20 planting date was harvested on October 2 and the June 12 planting date was harvested on October 9. Total weight, test weight, and moisture content were collected to calculate yield per acre.
UNDERSTANDING THE RESULTS
Figure 1. Average yield of three XtendFlex® soybean products planted at two planting dates (May 20 and June 12) as influenced by seeding rate.
There was no significant interaction between seeding rate, soybean product, and planting date.
The impact of seeding rate followed the trend of previous research where average soybean yields steadily increased from 40K to 120K seeds/acre and then leveled off (Figure 1).
The 160K seeds/acre rate had the highest average yield with no increase in yield observed with the 200K or 240K seeds/acre rates (Figure 1).
The 2.3 MG soybean product had the highest average yield at 75.5 bu/acre while the 2.5 MG and 2.7 MG products yielded 72.1 and 74.4 bu/acre, respectively with an LSD (0.1) of 1.1.
No difference in yield was observed from planting date with each date having an average yield of 74 bu/acre.
Figure 2. Representation of the planting date, soybean product, and seeding rates in August of 2020.
KEY LEARNINGS
At this location, XtendFlex® soybeans planted around 160K seeds/acre helped maximize yield potential.
Farmers should work with their local seeds sales team member to help identify the best adapted XtendFlex® soybean product for their production system.
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