As you may have heard this year’s soybean seed crop is proving to be a very unpredictable one when it comes to seed viability and seed appearance.

With the conditions many of our growing areas experienced last fall (late rains in August followed by hot and dry) seed coats in many cases are checked and loose and the seed coat appears dull.

Germinations coming from the storage bins initially were very good but as we brought the seed to our conditioning plants just the minimal handling of the seed lowered the germinations by as much as 20%.

In an effort to help our GLH customers achieve the best results from your soybean crop we would like to give you a few pointers that may prove beneficial come harvest time.

• *Let the soil warm. *The National Soybean Research Laboratory or NSRL says a minimum soil temperature of 55 degrees to 60 degrees is required and above 65 degrees is ideal. Seed germination and emergence is a critical period in the life of a soybean because poor emergence due to low temperatures, a soil crust, or seed planted too deeply allows seedling pests or diseases to drastically reduce yield.
• Keep handling to a minimum. Like is says on our bag “Handle with care, live viable seed” and with the delicate condition our seed crop any unnecessary dropping or movement should be avoided, (handle them like eggs).
• Control weeds early and scout for insects. Give your soybean crop a fighting chance, don’t let weeds rob yield before your soybeans are even out of the ground. Plus scout for insects, Bean Leaf Beetles can move in and damage your crop before you know it, these are easy identify by the tri-angle found on the back behind the head.

Replant seed may be tight so by doing everything you can the first time to get a good stand will be to your benefit and will help to insure a profitable soybean crop.

Thank you,

Mitch Ray CCA
Product Manager
Great Lakes Hybrids

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