Production Blog

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (DTN) -- Soybean growers should give thanks that soybean seed is no longer sold in 50-pound bags. Soybean seed for 2013 is in many cases larger in size.

Since most seed companies now sell seed by count (130,000 to 140,000 seeds per bag), growers will still get the same number of seeds per purchased unit. However, seed companies are warning that some planter and drill adjustments may be needed to accommodate the larger seed.

Farmers gathered Feb. 7 to listen to Monsanto representatives discuss agronomic challenges going into the 2013 planting season. DTN has been reporting on the big soybean issue for the past few months. Seed companies are now starting to share more detailed information.

Monsanto agronomist Lance Tarochione warned growers to be prepared to adjust planting equipment to accommodate some larger seed. "Seed that gets down into the low 2000 seeds per pound is likely going to cause some planting challenges," he said. In general, the trade has estimated that seed is running 200 to 400 seeds less per pound than in a normal year.

"There's probably not a planter owned by those of you in this room that can't plant 1800 seeds per pound," he told the group. "But you can't do it with the same setup you use toplant 3200 seeds per pound.

"My concern is that if all these planters need a different component, there's going to be a lot of demand. The day you go to the field is probably not the day you want to think about it."

Under similar growing conditions, varieties will differ from each other in seed size they produce. Genetic effects on size of seed are usually predictable, but weather conditions on the size of seed are not.

Tarochione explained that the 2012 drought caused mid-season aborted pods and seeds. "Late season we got moisture when the plant couldn't bloom anymore and couldn't set anymore pods. It couldn't resurrect any of those seeds that it aborted earlier in the season. The plant only has one way to strive for yield (at that point) -- make the bean bigger," he said.

He recommended growers talk to their planter manufacturer and seed dealer. Some of the soybean size differences are regional in nature. Corn seed sizes could also be larger and more round due to last year's drought.

Monsanto has produced an agronomic handout detailing how to optimize planter performance for various soybean seed sizes. Access it at:http://bit.ly/…

To find big bean planting tips from DuPont Pioneer go to: http://bit.ly/…

(To see video interview with Pam Smith about big beans, go to http://about.dtnpf.com/… and scroll down to the Reporter's Notebook posted Feb. 8, 2013)

Pamela Smith can be reached at Pamela.smith@telventdtn.com

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