Production Blog

LAURA, Ill. (DTN) -- Bob Wieland is growing a field of diamonds in the rough. This spring the west central Illinois farmer tried a new soybean planting pattern that may or may not win out over his 30-inch rows. The point is he's trying something new and is testing it before committing a lot of resources.

"Trying new things keeps you on your toes," says Wieland, who farms near Laura, Ill. "With margins being what they are, it makes sense to try to do more with less. Every new product or idea gets a check strip on this farm to test how it performs in this local environment."

BASF Innovation Specialist Rodney Phelps rubber stamped the plan and helped Wieland devise the row space testing protocols. "It's so much fun to work with growers that aren't afraid to try something new.

"We're a little unsure if the beans will get too crowded where the rows intersect," Phelps said, signaling the crossing points at the top and bottom of each diamond, "but we're going to find out."

Wieland's goal was to find a planting pattern that will close the rows sooner -- limiting the opportunity for weeds to flourish and possibly reducing post herbicide applications -- all while allowing the soybean plant the chance to capture more sunlight.

He typically plants in 30-inch rows. To get the diamond-pattern, he split a 160,000 plants per acre (ppa) seeding rate in half and planted 80,000 ppa in a regular pass and then, planted the field again with another 80,000 ppa at a 30-degree angle to the original rows.

Testing row configurations and avoiding the need to purchase a new planter also appealed to him. "I've got $30,000 to $40,000 in Precision Planting gear hanging on my soybean planter and would like to get more value out of that investment," Wieland explained.

He also tried splitting the row -- making 15 inch rows. However, that required running over the recently planted row. Conditions were dry enough that he hasn't noticed any emergence problems. He also tried planting at right angles.

"Splitting the row seems like it might encourage compaction and planting at right angles created rougher planting conditions. So far, I'm liking the way this 30-degree angle configuration looks, but the yield monitor will tell the tale this fall," Wieland said. He replicated the split planting tests in a couple of fields.

Meanwhile, Phelps plans to monitor the fields carefully this season to see if those rows actually do close faster.

As an agronomist, he encourages growers to consider strip trials to evaluate inputs such as nitrogen and fungicides. It's also a way to test novel new products. "It sounds simple, but it really is critical to try that new management practice or product on a limited acreage to find responses -- both negative and positive," Phelps said.

Yield is critical, but it isn't the only factor. The practice has to pencil out economically and be practical. The reliability of the economic comparison goes up as the number of reps or trials increase.

For additional ideas on how to develop test plots go to:

How to Establish Effective Side-by-Side Comparisons at http://bit.ly/…

Tips for Test Plots at http://bit.ly/…

Pam Smith can be reached at pam.smith@dtn.com

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