2017 Soybean Multi-Trait Yield Data, Preliminary

November 1, 2017

Mark Denzler, President

This morning I told Joyce I would be visiting farms today and hoping to ride a few combines.  On the way to the kitchen, she called me into the living room to see Randy Ollis’s early morning weather forecast on Channel 8.

I would not be riding any combines today.

A rain and snowy mix was moving in and it was going to be wet for the rest of the week.

So, my plans changed.  Many farms that I have visited this fall are still deliberating the soybean trait they will want on their fields for next season.   I decided instead, to use my office day to review preliminary soybean yield data.

In 2017, we conducted multi-trait soybean yield trials.  We tested Roundup Ready 2 Xtend®; Roundup Ready 2 Yield®; Liberty Link®; Balance™ GT and Glyphosate Tolerant (sometimes called RR1) soybeans.  We ran similar tests in the past years.  2015 and 2016 results gave the yield edge to Xtend over R2Y’s, R2Y’s over LL’s, and everything was beating the older Glyphosate Tolerant soybeans.

Our 2017 trials were conducted by a third-party research company.  Today, the data set is incomplete because some plots still need to be harvested.

However, the data I have seen so far has made me raise my eyebrows because it does not correlate with past years data.  After review, it may raise your eyebrows too.

In 2017 we tested 44 different varieties.  We tested from a 2.9 RM to 4.2 RM.  These were replicated in 4 row plots.  The LL varieties were post sprayed with glyphosinate herbicide.  All other varieties were post sprayed with glyphosate herbicide.  These were high yielding environments, with a 69.7-bushel overall plot average.  These are the preliminary yield rankings separated by Trait and RM:

RANK 2.9-3.2 RM 3.3-3.6 RM 3.7-3.9 RM 4.0-4.2 RM RANK
1st LL BALANCE XT XT 1st
2nd R2Y XT R2Y LL 2nd
3rd XT R2Y LL R2Y 3rd
4th GT LL BALANCE BALANCE 4th
5th BALANCE GT GT GT 5th

 

As I previously said, the full data set is still incomplete.  There does not seem to be a correlation that one trait is remarkably superior to the other in the data thus far.  The data shows that the older Glyphosate Tolerant varieties do not yield with the new traits.   Within some RM’s groupings there is not a significant statistical difference in some of the rankings.

The weather kept me in the office this morning.  I anticipate more snowy, wet days after the rest of the plots get cut.  Stay tuned for the final 2017 Soybean Trait report as soon as harvest is complete!