In this episode of Soybean School West, I talk to Lyndsey Smith of RealAgriculture.com about why you may see yellowing of soybean plants in your field.
There are few things more troubling to a farmer than a sickly looking or well-chewed plant. Environmental stress is unavoidable, but determining the correct stress is important if you’re looking to either a) remedy the situation or b) avoid it in the future.
Manitoba soybean farmers enjoy relatively few disease and insect pressures, so far, due to the relatively short time the crop has been grown. But that doesn’t mean the crop isn’t susceptible to other stresses. As Kristen Podolsky, production specialist with the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association, explains in this Soybean School episode, there are a few reasons why you’ll see yellow soybeans, but not all of them can be remedied. Manitoba soils aren’t just prone to moisture stress, she says, but certain soil characteristics — high pH and carbonates — can also induce iron chlorosis in soybeans. (See a soil map here.) There’s also the so-called “yellow flash” of high rates of glyphosate that could also cause farmers undue stress. Watch the video below to find out how to identify the cause of yellowed soybeans and what you may or may not be able to do about it