A recent study by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reveals soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a significant issue for soybean growers in the eastern part of the state. Soybean cyst nematodes develop very small (less than 1 mm) white cysts on the root system. These cysts reduce nitrogen-fixing nodules and increase the…
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South Carolina announced its first find of Asiatic Soybean Rust this year, in Hampton County. The soybeans were at stage R3 (early pod development), and only one of 50 leaves showed any detectable pustules. This is a little closer to many of our NC soybeans than any of the previously confirmed finds, at 380 miles…
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We haven’t even started thinking about getting the combine in the field for most of the soybean crop this year, but it’s never too early to start thinking about variety selection for next year. Variety selection is one of the most important decisions a grower can make, and with over 200 soybean varieties…
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With over 75% of the North Carolina soybean crop flowering and 50% setting pods, now is the time to start thinking about how disease pressure may affect your crop. Getting in the field and looking for foliar or stem diseases is critical to determining what diseases are present and if a fungicide application is needed.…
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August is here which means field day season is gearing up. Getting in the field to look at research plots can help you start thinking about things you want to implement in your operations for 2017. Field days provide a great opportunity to see the latest trends in soybean production, as well as many other…
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As much of the soybean crop begins to move into reproductive stages, it’s time to start scouting for pod feeding insects. Our common pod feeding insects include corn earworm and stink bugs. In some areas of the state, stink bugs seem to be a real problem this year. And, corn earworm traps across the state…
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A number of dicamba drift situations, primarily tobacco and soybean, have been observed in recent days. Crop sensitivity to dicamba varies, but all broadleaf crops are sensitive. Tobacco, soybeans, other beans and peas, sweetpotato, and grapes are extremely sensitive. Cotton, peanuts, and vegetable crops, including peppers, tomato, watermelon, cucumber, cantaloupe, and squash, are somewhat less…
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As many of our beans move into reproductive stages, now is the time to begin scouting for disease and thinking about fungicide applications. If, when and how often to apply fungicides are questions all soybean growers face. To help answer these questions the NCSPA sponsored research with a group of crop consultants in eastern N.C.…
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Regardless of the crops we grow or work with, the one thing we all have in common in the ag industry is complaining about the weather. It’s either too wet, or too dry or too hot, or too cold. When talking soybeans specifically, water stress (either too much or too little) is one of…
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Given all the publicity off-target dicamba injury has gotten over the last few weeks, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share some videos we made with Crop Science professor Dr. Wes Everman last season. In the first two videos, Anthony Grove, an NCSU Master’s student under the direction of Dr. Wes…
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Scouting is critical to helping make management decisions that will ultimately increase profitability. Early rounds of scouting should look for emergence, stand and uniformity, early seedling diseases and weeds. Scouting early and scouting often are essential to catching early season problems. Emergence, Stand, Uniformity Soon after soybeans emerge the first task is to scout for…
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The excessive wet weather over the last 30 days has delayed soybean planting (and everything else) for many growers. Whether you planned to plant your soybeans late because of wheat, or the weather has gotten you behind, keep these things in mind to maximize yields with late-season beans. Typically, planting in late June or July…
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