Lower Soybean Populations to Combat Mold and Rot

Finding the right soybean planting population balance is a critical piece of the yield puzzle. Too high and the plants are too competitive with each other; too low and you could miss out on yield. However, research has favored leaning on the conservative side when it comes to deciding your soybean populations. Lower population can lead to cost savings, but it can also be a critical factor in combatting mold and rot.

Going from 150,000 – 155,000 to 130,000 – 140,000 could be a good way to experiment with lower populations. Some trial data reveals excellent yields at 110,000 to 120,000. But bad weather is the variable that can make or break those results. If a weather disaster strikes, growers could suffer serious yield loss. But a good soybean treatment, a root promoter and an inoculant could compensate for threats on lower populations.

Read more on soybean populations here.