Pioneer agronomist Paul Hermans is challenging farmers to consider all three when developing a seed selection plan for their soybean crop.

WHY IT MATTERS: Efficient soybean planting strategies can maximize yield and help mitigate the risk of white mould in some regions.

Seeding rate decisions are based on achieving both agronomic and economic optimum output. Hermans says crop success is influenced by several factors, including yield environment variability such as soil type, management zones and water-holding capacity.

Adjusting the planting date can also affect performance, with earlier planting increasing node and pod development. Hermans recommends planting as early as conditions allow to maximize yield potential.

During his research trials, Hermans said he and his team wanted to determine the if adjusting the planting date would have an impact on yields. The team did a soybean planting between May 1 and 7, then repeated the same trials 14 days later.

“On average we got three to five bushels more yield,” he said.

Hermans and his team also conducted a study in 2024 in eastern Ontario following a severe white mould outbreak in 2023. The trial evaluated the effect of seeding rate on soybean yield in Eastern Canada. He noted that in 2024, white mould pressure remained low.

In eastern Ontario, white mould, also known as sclerotinia stem rot, is playing a larger role in determining seeding rate decisions.

“White mould is a big disease factor, so we look at reducing populations to help combat it,” he said.

He encourages growers to contact their local representatives to help determine the right rate for their specific fields.

Defining soybean seeding rates

Traditionally, high-productivity fields require a lower seeding rate.

Research conducted by Hermans and his team revealed that results from local variety plots showed yields were generally about five bushels per acre higher than average.

The research found that adequate moisture during and immediately after planting allowed for excellent stand establishment, averaging 90 per cent of the seeding rate. Adequate rainfall throughout the growing season, especially in August, supported those higher yields.

It also demonstrated that growers should adjust seeding rates based on yield environment, crop rotation, residue cover, tillage practices and planting date.

If results fall short, Hermans says growers should consider replanting at the V2 (second trifoliate) stage in late May or early June. He believes replant risk can be reduced with good soil fertility. Research has shown a correlation between yield and potassium levels.

Potassium regulates stomatal opening and closing, controlling how the plant uses water. Soybeans require about 50 per cent moisture content to germinate, compared with 30 per cent for corn. Planting depth can also influence moisture availability.

He noted that planters typically provide more consistent depth than drills, but yield data shows only about a half-bushel advantage with a planter.

Yield level affects attrition

Higher-yield environments can lead to greater plant attrition. Hermans believes yield environment is the most critical factor in setting soybean populations.

During his research trials, Hermans discovered that as yield potential increases, soybean populations can be reduced due to larger plants and more nodes per plant, which lead to more pods per acre.

His team found that yield at the 80,000 seeds-per-acre rate was significantly lower than at 160,000, but neither differed significantly from the 120,000 rate.

The research also showed that the average number of pods per plant at the lowest seeding rate was more than double that at the highest rate — making it clear that pod number was the yield component playing the greatest role in compensating for lower plant populations.

Hermans urges farmers to watch for uneven emergence, noting a three-day planting delay can translate into a one-day later harvest.

“So if you plant three weeks beyond mid-May, expect a one-week-later harvest,” he said, adding that soil crusting and heavy residue can prevent even emergence.

He noted that today’s soybean varieties are more robust and branch more than those grown 15 to 20 years ago. Ideally, growers should target two million nodes per acre to achieve high yields.

“I always tell growers that two-thirds of your yield comes from the number of seeds you’re taking off per acre, and one-third comes from seed size,” he said.

Hermans said balancing plant population and growth depends on the yield environment. Limitations become more pronounced with later planting, reducing growth potential.

“It’s best to have beans flowering by July 1 to capture as much sunlight as possible during the reproductive phase, which drives seed size,” he said.

Applying a variable-rate seeding strategy

Variable-rate technology can maximize profit per acre while reducing seed costs. It is also an efficient way to manage soybean populations across different yield and moisture-holding environments within a field.

With spring planting approaching, Hermans encourages farmers to take a measured approach to soybean planting. He recommends using variable-rate technology to adjust seeding rates across a field based on soil conditions and yield potential, improving performance and efficiency.

“Don’t push when conditions are not ideal. Don’t mud the crop in,” he said. “Watch planting depth and manage residue with row cleaners.”

The post Early planting, even emergence key to unlocking soybean yields appeared first on Farmtario.

WHY IT MATTERS: Access to clean seed can boost yield potential, economic sustainability, and cultivar resilience, especially in the horticulture sector.

“We didn’t have hardneck data up until this point,” said Travis Cranmer, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness vegetable crops specialist.

The garlic clean seed report, published on Oct. 10, shows that five clean seed garlic cultivars achieved yield increases between 25 per cent and 65 per cent depending on the trial site, compared to their conventional counterparts.

“We have no idea how long that lasts. We have no idea if that translates to every soil type, in every growing condition,” Cranmer said. “I have a feeling it only gets better than 25 per cent.”

Cranmer began garlic cultivar selection trials in 2018 at field sites in Dashwood, Ridgetown and Gorrie, replanting the top five hardneck garlic performers the following year. The Dashwood site remains the only location with consistent cultivar production.

In 2020, he submitted conventional Guelph, Polish White, Portugal 1 Azoles, Red Russian Marble Purple Stripe (MPS), and Ukraine cultivars from Dashwood and Ridgetown to the garlic clean seed program at the Ontario Crops Research Centre (formerly the New Liskeard Agricultural Research Station’s) SPUD Unit to develop genetically matched clean seed from conventional strains.

The garlic clean seed program was launched in the early 2000s at the research centre as a collaborative effort with the California Garlic and Onion Research Advisory Board (CORB), the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor), and the Garlic Growers Association of Ontario (GGAO). It has been supplying clean seed to Ontario garlic growers since 2008.

In 2023, clean seeds were planted separately from conventional cultivars at Dashwood and the new Grand Bend field sites to minimize virus contamination.

In 2024, Cranmer introduced new variables by planting five conventional and clean seed cultivars from Grand Bend’s previous season, eight inches apart at an Arthur field site.

“We just popped them in soil that neither of them had experienced before,” Cranmer said.

“That’s where we saw the craziest differences. The clean seed can really adapt nicely to a new soil type.”

Details of the field sites:

• Dashwood: Huron clay loam, planted Sept. 17, 2024, single row two metres long, 10 plants per row, 65,000 plants per acre, hand weeded, no irrigation, scaping on June 11, 2025, harvest July 22, 2025.
• Grand Bend: Brookston clay loam, planted Oct. 8, 2024, three rows of plants four inches apart, 170,000 plants per acre, black plastic weed control, exclusion netting in April, removed at harvest, drip irrigation from May to June 2025, scaping on June 11, 2025, harvest July 22, 2025.
• Arthur: Perth silt loam, planted Oct. 22, 2024, single row 1.5 meters, 150,000 plants per acre, interplanted conventional and CSP, hand-weeded, one inch of hand watering June 4, scaping on June 12, 2025, harvested July 23, 2025.

All bulbs were cleaned, placed in mesh bags, and cured in pallet boxes in a forced-air drying shed for 10 days, with dry weights recorded on Aug. 6 and 8, 2025.

The clean seed lines produced bulbs that were on average 65 per cent larger than conventional bulbs, equating to a size increase of 40 to 60 grams, Cranmer said.

The results showed a consistent yield advantage for clean seed, with top performers including:

• Dashwood: 2021 Polish White yielded 37 per cent higher
• Grand Bend: 2021 Guelph yielded 40 per cent higher
• Arthur: clean seed outperformed on average by 65 per cent, with individual cultivars showing 101 per cent for Guelph, 73 per cent for Portugal 1 Azoles, 62 per cent for Polish White and Red Russian MPS, and 29 per cent for Ukraine.

Despite drought conditions and no additional inputs, Cranmer noted the clean seed performed as though it had irrigation.

“Every three out of the five years there’s water stress. Wouldn’t it be nice to grow something that is going to perform better in that stress environment, that doesn’t need irrigation to get a decent size crop?” Cranmer suggested.

The report noted that on June 4, the conventional plants experienced an average dieback of 15.4 per cent, while clean seed plants showed only 1.3 per cent or less, with clean cultivars remaining green at harvest, slightly delaying it.

Producers are planting earlier, however, even with a two-week delay at the Arthur site, Cranmer believed that further delaying harvest could unlock additional yield potential.

“This is where you get the yield increases, by leaving it an extra week,” he said. “Now you’re getting an extra week of energy, probably to that bulb.”

Over seven generations, a single clean seed roundel can produce 280,000 plants if scapes are removed and bulbils are not harvested from the clean plants.

If bulbils are harvested in the first two years, production can increase to 2.2 million cloves, enough to plant 15 hectares (38 acres) at 143 cloves per hectare in the eighth year.

Cranmer noted that the SPUD Unit’s production of clean seed garlic cannot keep pace with demand. Although the GGAO ensures fair access for all Ontario growers, the annual roundel output could be exhausted by a single grower, with increasing interest from other provinces.

“If growers continually choose to use clean seed planting stock, over time the virus load will be pushed out of the production system,” Cranmer said in the report. “While planting stock from the clean seed program may cost more, the benefits and increases in yield outweigh these initial costs.”

The post Clean seed garlic promises bigger bulbs and higher returns for growers appeared first on Farmtario.