View From the Field – East – Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers

BY: Terry Buss – MPSG Production Agronomist – East

Pulse and Soybean Crop Update for May 27, 2026

Field Peas:

Planting complete across the eastern half of Manitoba.
Crop stage ranges from emergence to second node with the crop to advance rapidly in the forecasted warm temperatures.
Herbicide applications are starting. Extra attention will be needed to ensure herbicides are applied within appropriate crop stages given that rapid growth is expected in the pea crop over the coming week.
Stand assessments are starting in early seeded fields where emergence is considered complete. So far stand density has been acceptable.

Soybeans:

Planting progress ranges from 25% complete in the north Interlake area to complete in some areas of central and south eastern Manitoba.
There are reports of some early seeded fields in southern Manitoba being at emergence to cotyledon growth stages. Throughout eastern Manitoba, fields seeded eight to 10 days ago could emerge before the end of this week given the warm weather forecast. Soil temperatures at seeding depth have been at or exceeding 10 C since about May 20.
If wanting to roll fields before emergence, growers are advised to check emergence progress if they are retuning to fields where there has been a considerable delay since seeding.

Soybean Emergence

I was able to get to some fields in the Beausejour area to dig around to check on the progress of crop emergence.

I was particularly interested to visit fields that were seeded 10 days ago during very cold conditions. Some clients had decided to stop seeding while others opted to keep going. At that time soil temperatures at seeding depth had dropped to around 5 C from the 10 C achieved the day before. Soil temperatures didn’t start exceeding 10 C again until five days after planting. I will be following these fields to see how stand establishment turns out.

"hypocotyl hook" of this soybean — The “hypocotyl hook” of this soybean is pushing up through the soil, pulling the large cotyledons with it. This seedling appeared healthy displaying good coloration and firmness. Image taken 10 days after planting. Photo credit: Terry Buss

Soybean planting depth of 1.5" — Planting depth of 1.5″. This cross section of the soil shows emergence is half complete. The “hypocotyl hook” can withstand being pushed to the soil surface while dragging the cotyledons behind it. Photo credit: Terry Buss

The "hypocotyl hook" is a hard but brittle structure. — The “hypocotyl hook” is a hard but brittle structure. Pre-emergent rolling can snap these hooks and destroy the growing point if the emerging soybean is very close to the soil surface or at the “ground crack” stage. Always inspect a field before rolling if you have been delayed in returning to that field after planting. Photo credit: Terry Buss

Although not nearly as critical as with corn, good seed singulation in soybeans makes sure every seed gives you a productive plant. In this image only one of these plants will contribute to yield while the other will perish. Soybean stand assessments save us money. Photo credit: Terry Buss