Soybean planting.

DeltaRed

Well-known Member
I'm planting 5 acres of soybeans. Experiment. Beans have never been grown here.3 years ago a local guy(hog feeder) started growing. Worked well enough that they bought the processing equipment.Last year they raised 60 bushel in one field,70 bushel on another. I am planting in 30" rows(useing my JD #70 corn planter). According to local scources,plant 140,000 population,or approxamately one bag.There are two different sizes of seed.That will determine the plate to use.Am ordering new plates from Lincoln AG.So my question is, what should be the seed spaceing?Any other 'tidbits' of onfo can you offer?I am excited about the posibility of a 'new' crop here. Something I can rotate with corn. Thanks. Steve
 
I think you'll be pleased with a corn/soybean rotation. That's what I've been doing for the past 15 years. I've tried 30", 15" and 7.5" rows. Not much difference that I can tell although research indicates better yields with 15" rows. Maybe because the plants have a little more elbow room and maybe because phosphorus, which doesn't move around in the soil, is more readily available to the plant? I've tried every seeding rate from 125k to 220k per acre and pretty much settled somewhere in the middle. You should be just fine at 140k. Beans had never been grown on my farm either until I took over a 25 acre patch rather hurriedly from a renter who had all but ruined it. All guess work. Put down some lime. Put on some starter fertilizer and no-till drilled in soybean in 15" rows. Harvested a very good crop. And, left some nitrogen behind.
 
If you never have grown beans before on your land, use a seed innoculant. That supplies the bacteria that fixes the N that feeds the beans. Good luck!
 
Yep,innoculant is coming. the other 'grower'(buyer) is provideing it.We plant 30" rows because of our furrow irrigation.We could put two 10" rows on a 40" bed.Some guys do similar on onions.
 
Hope this helps, right off the bean bag! John
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About 32 years ago I planted soybeans in 36 inch rows with my old John Deere 490 planter....I ran the planting rate in the fastest speed available (maybe 120,000 pop) and got 40- to 50 bu. Per acre yield on plowed and fitted ground here in So. Michigan. Used about 100 lbs. per acre of 0-12-12 starter dry fertilizer, cultivated them and picked off the turned up.stones after last pass through. Actually made about 40 bucks an acre on 45 acres with the things.
 
On 30 inch rows I"ve always gone 9-12 seeds per foot. Generally check where the planter raises out of the ground, use my boot as a "foot" gauge.
 
Steve, if you don't get your bean plates in time you can plant beans with a round corn plate. Use a B1-24 which will allow you to drop two beans per cell. Set the planter for half the population you are shooting for. You will get a consistent drop with this setup. I've done it and it works well. Mike
 
Remember, beans are a lot of the time only 85% germination. Should tell on the seed tag. You have to allow for that and if wanting 140000, may have to plant 160000.
 
I think every bag I've ever seen has stated "85% germination". I've saved left over bean seed for two years and tested it and never had less than 100% germination although that was under "optimum" conditions; i.e. warm wet newspapers. In the field, I would be hard pressed to find any that didn't germinate. The first year I planted them I no-tilled them into quack sod and some of them were laying in open slots plainly visible. They germinated and grew just fine! Amazing plants. My favorite crop.
 

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