Most Ontario growers typically plant soybeans in mid-May. One management strategy that consistently leads to higher yields is early planting. Another strategy could be to plant longer maturing varieties for a given area. With the introduction of CruiserMaxx seed treatment, higher plant populations can often be achieved under more stressful conditions making it possible to plant earlier. This project was conducted to determine if an early planting strategy along with the use of longer maturing varieties can significantly increase yield potential.
The yield response to 3 soybean varieties (per region) was measured at an early planting date (April 15-May 5), a normal planting date (May 6-20) and a late date (May 21-June 5) over the three years of this study (2010-2012). Varieties were chosen over a range of maturities from an adapted variety for that site to varieties that were up to 200 CHU’s longer maturing than adapted.