30 inch rows in soybeans

Jo-ker

Member
thinking of double cropping some of my beans in 30 inch rows this year.Soil is sandy loam and very stony(stones packed down nice in 2014). Soil test indicates i need p and k. Will be using a 7000 jd with yetter no till outfit. Will i be setting my self up for a huge yield hit ?
 
30" rows probably won't work well for double cropping unless you plant one direction then plant a second time either to make 15" rows or plant at an angle to make a diamond.
 
I agree with Jim (below) and save your seed and fuel/time. I'm sure you already know how thick and full the rows get on a good year with 30" rows. The sun / wind and "bee,s" need to get down in there during blossom time when they are already filling the row even at 30". We always planted 30" and never had mold,smut or any other problems . On a good year ,without any fert., weed spray and with year away seed would get 40 bu. acre. Might not sound like much today but the law of diminishing returns plays a big part after 40 bu.Just my old school opinion.
 
good luck on the double cropping beans i tried it twice once in 30 and once in 15. lost my a!! both times. got 15-20bushel first time second time made one round with combine pulled out. i was on pretty pure sand after taking off grain rye. good luck
 
Hi ztr,thanks for the reply, here is some more background on my sand field. In may 2014 a custom operator came in and worked up the corn residue (2013 130 bu /ac) with soil saver,field culivatorand then packed it all down with a large packer.He also ended up planting the beans in 15 " rows but planted them thin(140000 seeds/ac) which at the time i was unhappy about.Then we ended up with a cool cloudy summer and had hugh problems with white mould in my area(southern ontario)but not in my field! So seeding it thin wasnt such a bad thing afterall.So with low corn prices, i figure to use my own planter and plant beans in 30 in rows cause i had no diease issues in 2014
 
Ztr, forgot to mention yield on my thinnly seeded soybeans ended up at 39.25 bu/ac in 2014----John
 
Are you talking double cropping like taking wheat off and planting beans in the same year or planting beans back to back? I've known guys to plant beans for 5 years in a row. I've planted soys on soys in 2013 and 2014 at 140,000 in 30" rows and did just over 40 bu/acre. I'm in MI
 
John we have done what your doing several times in sand or sand loam. I know of a guy that farms 600 acres of soys and nothing else for 15 yrs. He sometimes disks before he plants. Do you have dry fert on your planter ?
 
yes have fertilizer attachment on my planter and plan to add fert in some fields according to soil tests....john
 
Double cropping beans after the wheat harvest has been tried here in Ontario,problem is we dont get them timely rains to kick start the beans so the yields tend to be disappointing,
 
4020, used to drive 18 wheeler in Michigan,delivered a pile of glass jars to Welchs in lawton,then back hauled cereal from Post in Battle Creek,always observed a large farm operation on i-94 at TA in Battle Creek. This farmer seemed to have some success with double croppin beans after the wheat harvest.Dirt around there looked similar to what i have,you farm in that neck of the woods?
 
We use a JD 7000 with the 3 coulter per row notill. Your soil sounds like ours, sandy, Stoney Etc... We put the fert on with the planter in the sandy ground because we think the plant gets more nutrients before it leaches. With that notill planter you'll to better just notilling and not working it. Corn soy rotation.
 
I have always heard double crop meaning to plant a second crop after harvesting the first crop ie; harvesting a crop of wheat and then planting a crop of beans in the wheat stubble, thus raising 2 crops in one year. This is a common practice in areas with a longer growing season. If you are going to plant beans after having beans the previous year, I don't see any problem as long as you fertilize accordingly. Chris
 
I don't know how 30in rows will impact the yield on a double crop. But double cropping beans after wheat is pretty common here. I have 2 neighbors that due 160 to 240 acres of double crop beans. they both use a no-till drill or a kinze splitter planter. yes you will take a yield hit but should still be fairly profitable. here we might do 50-70 bushel beans to the acre depending on weather but a double crop field will do 45-55 bushel to the acre.
 
About 75% of my wheat ground gets double cropped into beans. I figure that 30 bpa is the break even point and I always go above that. They don't ever yield as much as single crop, but like has been said, make sure you fertilize appropriately. I foliar feed shortly after they are up. I'm not set up to side dress with my planter so that's my best option.

I had single crop beans to be proud of this year, but the double hit just the right rains to make the pigweed and mare's tail a mess to deal with. You just couldn't spray enough to stay ahead. Even with that the yield wasn't bad. The dockage was, but the yield wasn't.
 
If I understand you right you are going to plant beans this year on what was bean ground last year. My advice is to plant a normal population that would be fit for your area for 30" rows. You may want to soil test and apply what is not up to par as far as lime and fertilizer and what not. 30" rows are quit common in my area as well as 15" rows.
 

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