Variety Maturity and Planting Date Effect on Soybean Yield in North Dakota

Objective

  • Determine the influence of maturity rating, seeding date, and location on soybean yield performance.

Study Description

Years:    2012, 2013, 2014
Locations:    Prosper, Carrington, and Lisbon, ND (Table 1)
Design:    Randomized complete block with 4 replications
Plot Size:    6 rows wide (12-inch spacing) x 25 feet long
Seeding Rate:    200,000 seeds/acre
Factors:
     Planting date:   4 or 6 planting dates per locations at
approx. 10-day intervals
  Pioneer® brand soybean variety
  Variety/Brand¹   90Y70 (R) – 0.7 maturity group
91Y41 (R) – 1.4 maturity group
Soybean variety maturity study - research map

Table 1. Location-years for the soybean seeding date and cultivar study conducted at three North Dakota locations.

Year Carrington Prosper Lisbon
2012   X  
2013 X X  
2014 X X X

Results

  • At Carrington in 2013, there was a significant interaction between planting date and variety on yield.
  • Yield was not influenced by planting date for 90Y70, but yield was lower at the latest seeding date (June 21) compared to earlier planting dates for 91Y41 (Figure 1).

 

as influenced by planting date and variety.

Figure 1. Soybean yield at Carrington in 2013, as influenced by planting date and variety.

  • At Carrington, in 2014, the planting date x variety interaction indicated greater yield reductions for 91Y41 than 90Y70 as planting date advanced (Figure 2).

 

as influenced by planting date and variety.

Figure 2. Soybean yield at Carrington in 2014, as influenced by planting date and variety.

  • Average yields of 30 bu/acre or greater were obtained at the first four seeding dates for the earlier variety compared to the first three seeding dates for the later variety.
  • At Prosper, in 2012, the main effect of soybean variety and the planting date x variety interaction were not significant.
  • The main effect of planting date indicated an approximately 13% yield reduction at the 2 later dates compared to the 2 earlier planting dates (Figure 3).

 

as influenced by planting date.

Figure 3. Soybean yield at Prosper in 2012, as influenced by planting date.

  • At Prosper, in 2013, the main effect of variety and the planting date x variety interaction were not significant.
  • The main effect of planting date indicated similar yield for the May 17 and May 24 planting dates with lower yield at each successive planting date (Figure 4).

 

Soybean yield at Prosper in 2013, as influenced by planting date.

Figure 4. Soybean yield at Prosper in 2013, as influenced by planting date.

  • At Prosper in 2014, Pioneer® varieties 90Y70 and 91Y41 yielded 44 and 35 bu/acre, respectively, when averaged across planting dates (data not shown).
  • Yield reductions with successive planting dates were greater for the later maturity variety P91Y41 compared to P90Y70 (Figure 5).

 

as influenced by planting date and variety.

Figure 5. Soybean yield at Prosper in 2014, as influenced by planting date and variety.

  • Average yield was 26 bu/acre and 45 bu/acre for 91Y41 and 90Y70, respectively, at the June 23 planting date.
  • At Lisbon in 2014, the planting date x variety interaction indicated a yield advantage for 91Y41 at earlier planting dates and 90Y70 at later planting dates (Figure 6).

 

 Soybean yield at Lisbon in 2014, as influenced by planting date and variety.

Figure 6. Soybean yield at Lisbon in 2014, as influenced by planting date and variety.

  • The 2 varieties planted yielded similarly when planted on June 10.

Conclusions

  • At these locations, highest soybean yields generally were achieved with planting before the third week of May, with small declines with early June planting and large declines at later planting dates.
  • Planting the variety rated 1.7 for maturity was usually not required for higher yield than the 0.7 maturity variety, and should be avoided for planting dates after late May based on these results.

Research conducted by Burton Johnson, North Dakota State University, as a part of the Pioneer Crop Management Research Awards (CMRA) Program. This program provides funds for agronomic and precision farming studies by university and USDA cooperators throughout North America. The awards extend for up to four years and address crop management information needs of Pioneer agronomists, Pioneer sales professionals and customers.

The foregoing is provided for informational use only. Please contact your Pioneer sales professional for information and suggestions specific to your operation. 2012-2014 data are based on average of all comparisons made in 6 locations through Nov. 30, 2014. Multi-year and multi-location is a better predictor of future performance. Do not use these or any other data from a limited number of trials as a significant factor in product selection. Product responses are variable and subject to a variety of environmental, disease, and pest pressures. Individual results may vary.

¹All Pioneer products are varieties unless designated with LL, in which case some are brands.
Always follow grain marketing, stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Varieties with the Glyphosate Tolerant trait (including those designated by the letter “R” in the product number) contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate herbicides. Glyphosate herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate.

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