[Pinesdune]

Hi there, I am thinking about trying soybeans for the first time but am unsure about one thing. The field I'd like to put them on has had a wheat/canola rotation on it the last 8 years (it was rented out to a large local farmer) with the exception that the last year they had it they seeded sunflowers. I put wheat on it this year. What I was wondering about is I've heard that sclerotinia can hang on bad with the sunflowers and soybeans don't do well. I'm just trying to figure out if I should seed canola/oats/wheat/soybeans from here or can go into the soybeans without too much disease pressure. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Andrew_D]

I can't comment on the sunflower part of the rotation as we don't grow them here...

What row spacing are you using? If using a planter on 15" or wider, you are likely OK. If using an air drill 12" or less, you may see white mold problems, especially on headland overlaps.

Andrew

 

[mbfarmer]

I wouldn't worry about it. Soybeans or canola can both get the sclerotinia but I doubt it will be that bad. I wouldn't grow a cereal on a cereal if someone held a gun to my head.

 

[nicemustang]

Sclerotina is greatest at 2 year in cycle they say. Cereal on cereal is ok with me sometimes too, better than canola every second year.

 

[Pinesdune]

I can't comment on the sunflower part of the rotation as we don't grow them here...

What row spacing are you using? If using a planter on 15" or wider, you are likely OK. If using an air drill 12" or less, you may see white mold problems, especially on headland overlaps.

Andrew

Thanks for the heads up on the white mold. I'm using an air drill 4" spread on 10" spacing. Single shoot.

 

[Pinesdune]

Sclerotina is greatest at 2 year in cycle they say. Cereal on cereal is ok with me sometimes too, better than canola every second year.

So when you say year 2, is it 2 years after the sunflowers for example or the year directly following them (year 2 of the rotation) . I know I may be getting hung up on a technicality but just want to give the soybeans a fighting chance for first time . Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MNfarmer85]

So when you say year 2, is it 2 years after the sunflowers for example or the year directly following them (year 2 of the rotation) . I know I may be getting hung up on a technicality but just want to give the soybeans a fighting chance for first time . Thanks for the help guys.

Never grown sunflowers here but for years at least until corn prices went up a few years ago the most common rotation was corn/soybeans. Worked alright although not the best rotation in the world so might be ok if you have something in between the year it had sunflowers and the year its going to have beans.

On our farm we have beans in 15" rows and don't have much white mold show up at all but I have seen a few dead/dying plants in one field I was checking yesterday and it had been out of beans for over 5 years. (Hay field and 3 years of corn after.)

Be glad you don't have the soybean cyst nematode (yet!) they can do a lot of damage to varieties that aren't resistant planted in short rotations like the corn/soy one that's common here. Hope this link works.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/agricu...NS-Soybean-SoybeanCystNematode-WebQuality.pdf