Out here in the Midwest, July is when soybean season starts getting serious. Your crop is moving into flowering and early reproductive growth. Pods haven’t formed yet, but the foundation for them is already being built. What happens over the next few weeks will play a major role in determining how much yield your crop ultimately delivers.
The good news is that there’s still time to identify potential issues and support your soybeans before they move deeper into reproductive growth.
If you’re walking fields this month, here are three things worth checking right now.
Your soybean crop relies on nodules to supply much of the nitrogen it needs throughout the season. If those nodules are healthy and actively fixing nitrogen, your crop has a valuable source of nutrition working below ground. If they aren’t, your soybeans could start running short just as demand begins increasing.
What to look for
Warning signs
Why it matters
As your crop moves through flowering and toward pod set, nitrogen demand increases significantly. Healthy nodules help meet that demand. Poor nodulation can quietly limit performance long before obvious symptoms appear.
What you can do
Grab a shovel and dig up a few plants from different areas of the field. Be careful not to pull them out, as that can strip nodules from the roots. Cut several nodules open and check the color inside. If they’re pink, nitrogen fixation is taking place.
Looking ahead, biological technologies like our Foundation Pack and Induct technologies are designed to help establish strong nodulation and support nitrogen fixation throughout the season.
Flowering soybeans have a growing appetite for nutrients. Even if your fertility program was solid at planting, nutrient availability can change throughout the season. Rapid growth, weather conditions and root restrictions can all influence how effectively your crop accesses and utilizes nutrients.
What to look for
Warning signs
Why it matters
At this stage, your soybeans are preparing to support pod development. Nutrients such as molybdenum and boron play important roles in plant function, nutrient metabolism and reproductive development.
What you can do
Walk beyond the field edge and assess different parts of the field. If something looks off, tissue testing can help identify issues before they become yield-limiting. Foliar nutrition may also help support the crop during periods of increased demand.
Products like our Instruct MoB are designed to provide molybdenum and boron when your crop needs them most.
This is the easiest field check to overlook. Sometimes it’s worth stepping back from individual issues and looking at your field as a whole. A soybean field can be free of major disease or nutrient deficiencies and still be carrying stress that impacts performance.
Heat, excess moisture, drought, herbicide injury and insect pressure can all reduce the plant’s ability to capitalize on this important stage of development.
What to look for
Warning signs
Why it matters
The healthier your crop is now, the better positioned it will be to support flowering, pod set and eventually seed fill. Small setbacks during flowering can become bigger yield losses later in the season.
What you can do
Keep scouting regularly. Investigate areas that look different from the rest of the field and don’t assume they’ll correct themselves. The earlier you identify issues, the more opportunity you have to support the crop while it’s still building yield potential.
Products like our Instruct Functional can help support overall plant performance and resilience during periods of environmental stress and rapid growth.
Flowering is a good time to find out how your soybean crop is really doing.
Take the time to dig a few plants, check nodules, assess nutrient status and look closely at overall crop health. The fields that look the best at harvest often aren’t the ones that had perfect conditions all season. They’re the ones where potential issues were identified and managed before they became bigger problems.
A few extra minutes in the field this month could tell you a lot about where your crop is headed.
The flowering stage is an excellent time to evaluate nodulation and nitrogen fixation because your crop’s nitrogen demand is increasing rapidly.
Healthy, active nodules are typically pink or reddish inside when cut open. This indicates active nitrogen fixation.
Yellowing can be caused by nutrient deficiencies, poor nodulation, root issues, environmental stress or disease pressure. Field scouting and tissue testing can help identify the cause.
Boron, molybdenum, sulfur and other nutrients play important roles in supporting plant function and reproductive development during flowering and pod set.
Foliar nutrition can help address nutrient deficiencies and support plant performance during periods of high demand.
Dig plants and inspect the nodules. Active nodules should be abundant and pink inside when cut open.
Healthy flowering soybeans typically have active nodules, uniform color, strong vigor, consistent flowering and minimal signs of stress.
Products that support nitrogen utilization, micronutrient availability and overall plant performance can help growers support the crop during this critical yield-building stage. An option may include Instruct MoB, depending on field conditions and crop needs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
