In the Pod: Soybean Updates

You're listening to In The Pod, soybean updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension. Weed control in soybeans may be even more challenging this year according to Jeff Stachler, NDSU Extension cropping systems specialist. Jeff, let's talk about where we are in the season. What's the planting progress?

Yeah. So, by now, many soybeans are gonna be planted, across the state because it's looking like we're having good dry weather for planting progress. By the time you hear this, I'm expecting the majority of the soybeans to be planted, we need to be thinking about things for their growing season.

For those farmers who don't have their seed in yet, what about pre emergence?

For those individuals that have just planted, when you hear this or those that are going to be planting soybeans yet because you haven't had the time or the soil conditions haven't been right, need to make sure that we're applying the most effective rates of herbicides. Since kochia is one of the bigger weed issues as well as waterhemp this season, we need to consider applying sulfentrazone or Spartan at a rate of a quarter of a pound active ingredient per acre and we need to add metribuzin at a half a pound active ingredient per acre. Those are the high level rates that Joe has showed us in his research. We need to be using to get the best control of kochia and waterhemp. However, be sure to check soil texture, soil pH, and soil organic matter, and adjust those rates accordingly. Because not all of you may be able to use those high of rates, but we know from a weed control standpoint those rates are going to give us the best control and that high rate of metribuzin we're not used to using so far in most fields, but not all, have shown great safety to soybeans.

Jeff, when it comes to herbicides, what really gets them going?

Yeah. So for the preemergence herbicides, we have to have rainfall for activation, and it's looking like in the current forecast, we may be getting some rain when you hear this, or hopefully we'll get some rain soon after that. For pre emergence herbicides, we do need rainfall to activate the herbicides. If we only get about a quarter inch of rainfall, that is sufficient to get some of the herbicides activated and some herbicides will be more activated than others at that amount of rainfall. Some of them will need much more rain than that. I always like to see every herbicide get an inch of rain after application to get proper and complete activation and weed control. However, that being said, any amount of rainfall we get will give us some activation and give us some control and reduce the weed population before we spray the post emergence herbicide. Even though it's not to the level of control we want and expect, it's still better to put a pre emergence herbicide on than not put a pre emergence herbicide on. And this is especially true for this season for XtendFlex soybeans because we cannot legally apply dicamba products to those soybeans, either pre emergence or post emergence. And so if we're not using that product, we need to rely upon the pre emergence herbicides to be the most effective. So use the most effective herbicides, Know your pre emergent premixtures and make sure they have the proper dosage of at least these two herbicides or any of the other herbicides that you're using so that we can make sure that the glufosinate we apply later, which we can talk about, is gonna be more effective.

Thanks, Jeff. Our guest has been Jeff Stachler, NDSU Extension cropping system specialist. You're listening to In the Pod, soybean updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension, supported by the North Dakota Soybean Council.