The Plant Management Network (PMN) announces the launch of its next-generation resource for those involved in soybean production and management.

Focus on Soybean is an online-only web portal for growers, crop consultants, and researchers seeking information on producing healthy, high-yielding soybean crops.

“The purpose of Focus on Soybean is to concentrate reliable science-based production information in an easily accessible web-based format. Users will hear recognized experts presenting the latest findings in their own words,” said Miles Wimer, director of PMN. “Together with PMN’s existing agricultural journals, field trials, search engines, and other electronic resources, Focus on Soybean expands PMN’s offerings in support of its not-for-profit mission: to enhance the health, management, and production of agronomic crops and the commodities they produce.”

The central feature of Focus on Soybean is its educational webcasts. These currently include 15 narrated presentations totaling more than five hours of talks targeted toward consultants and producers in various regions. All are authored by university extension specialists recognized for their expertise and research related to soybean management practices.

The first round of webcasts includes the following, with others planned:

• Choosing Specialty Soybeans for the Right Niche Markets, Palle Pedersen, Iowa State University
• Soybean Production: Variety Selection, Planting Date Decisions, Row Spacing, and Seeding Rates, Shawn Conley, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• The Reality of Asian Soybean Rust: Lessons Learned from Three Years of Management, Bob Kemerait, University of Georgia
• Soybean Cyst Nematode: Biology, Scouting, and Management, Greg Tylka, Iowa State University
• Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome, John C. Rupe, University of Arkansas
• Sclerotinia Stem Rot of Soybean: Pathology and Management, Craig Grau, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Soybean Viruses: Biology, Symptoms, and Management, Loren Giesler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“The webcast format is much more dynamic than text articles,” said Wimer. “Through this new format, we can provide practitioners with more comprehensive management information in a timely way—and users can listen when and where they want.”

In addition to the webcasts, Focus on Soybean includes two other resource areas. One, titled “Search Soybean Information,” provides several search engines whereby readers can locate soybean-related information found either elsewhere on the PMN site or on its 62 partner websites. This information includes university extension publications, journal articles, images, and products from PMN’s partner organizations. The other area, “Featured Soybean Websites,” identifies additional high-quality soybean web resources, like PMN’s own Soybean Rust Information Center. The links also feature soybean-focused web pages located on PMN partner sites.

Focus on Soybean is the first in a series of crop-specific resources targeted to agricultural professionals. Find it here

It is accessible by a low-cost annual subscription that includes all of PMN’s other current and future electronic resources, including future Focus topics, for a single price. PMN supports itself through subscriptions and partnerships.