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| Search the crop forum for 15" soybeans. Its been discussed and argued many times, never to a concrete conclusion.
15" beans offer quicker canopy, and don't need a bushy bean for canopy. They are harder to spray without running down a whole row of beans unless you spray cross wise to the rows. With the closer rows air ventilation isn't as good so beans with a vulnerability to white mold will most often have white mold. Beans resistant to white mold are a distinct requirement in narrow row beans. Traditionally narrow row beans are planted with more seed to the acre which raises the cost, especially with the latest varieties.
30" beans have less of a mold problem, are easier to spray, or cultivate and with beans tending to bushiness will canopy decently. And will probably get buy with as few as 120,000 bean seed to the acre which stretches those $50 a sack seed beans.
The many who have switched back and forth on the crop forum report the yield differences have been inconsistent whether 30 or 15" rows have been best and many that went 15 or 7-1/2 drilled have switched back to 30" rows to not have so much money invested in a planter and so much row unit maintenance and seem to think the better quality planting of the planter vs drill grows the better crop more efficiently than the drill. Also in 30 inch no till rows there's room between them for residue from the previous crop while there not much room to pile of that residue in 15" rows.
A good planter, like my JD 7000 with Kinze bean meters plants very well. I don't know what size canola seed is, but there's probably a Kinze plate for canola that would work well providing you need the seed between 1/2 and 3" deep (your choice in 1/2" steps and consistent to better than a half inch of depth) and that you need that seed covered and lightly packed. Bean or seed cup meters are crude at counting, Kinze bean meters are precise at counting.
Gerald J. | |
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Planting soybeans 15" vs. 30"
