3 Tips to Set Your Soybeans Up for Success
Before your soybeans hit the dirt, consider these key steps to help boost your ROI.
Soybean planting planning sessions are underway in farm offices all over the country as growers analyze varieties, determine optimal planting populations, and study soil temperature data from past seasons. As you strategize how to navigate next year’s threats — from waterhemp to Red Crown Rot (RCR) to Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) — you’re thinking about how these issues will impact what you see on the yield monitor at harvest. You’re also carefully weighing input decisions against commodity prices and considering how choosing the wrong early-season inputs can stress soybeans, result in inferior performance and hurt your bottom line.
Early-season stressors put more pressure on the seed to perform in tough conditions. Take three steps to maximize your seed investment, starting day one.
1. Learn From the Past Season
Last year’s problems could be this year’s problems.
“A lot of the threats we saw in 2024 aren’t going to go away next year,” says Logan Dinkla, Syngenta agronomist based in Iowa. “Soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) eggs can survive in the soil for multiple years. Weed escapes, especially waterhemp, can add to the weed seed bank resulting in management issues for future seasons.”
A lot of the weed and disease pressure was a result of the warm and wet weather conditions of 2024, when the Midwest experienced above average rainfall. Weather also increased SDS and RCR pressure in 2024, according to local Syngenta agronomists. Iowa announced RCR spread to two new counties, Missouri reported their first outbreak, and Indiana saw increased reports across the state.
“We’re starting to see more RCR now than in years past. Once it’s found in a field or area, it seems to expand its footprint,” says Matt Geiger, Syngenta agronomist based in Illinois. “Sudden death syndrome is also an issue, especially for soybeans planted early. Like RCR, SDS is an emotional disease for growers. You want to make sure you’re protecting your soybeans and bottom line the best you can from day one.”
2. Start Planning Ahead Now
“Right now is the best time to start protecting your soybeans — before they’re in the ground,” Dinkla says. “We can really evaluate what worked and didn’t in 2024. We can see what changes need to be made and adjust for next season. We can decide on the best products. When choosing crop protection products, we want to set ourselves up for success by starting clean and staying clean through the season.”
One way to set soybeans up for higher potential yields is by planning to use a powerful pre-emergent (PRE) herbicide.
“Broad-spectrum PRE herbicides are critical for protecting yield, as soybeans do not like to compete with weeds for valuable resources,” Geiger says. “Weeds, like waterhemp, can take up valuable nutrients, water and sunlight, and can prevent your soybeans from reaching their full genetic potential.”
Growers increasingly look to plant early into cool, wet conditions to give their soybeans a greater yield potential. However, Geiger says growers should be on the lookout for early-season diseases like Pythium or Phytophthora.
“If you have to replant due to disease, you have just sacrificed the yield benefit of planting earlier, as we know early planted soybeans have better yield potential” he says.
Plan early to use a powerful seed treatment to protect against early-season diseases and a long-lasting pre-emergence herbicide so your soybeans will be better protected from key soybean yield thieves.
3. Choose the Right Protection
There are a few things you can do to help maximize your ROI potential at harvest, like implementing crop rotation or planting narrower rows to limit weeds. Choosing the right crop protection products should also be on your to-do list.
From Seedcare to herbicides, everything works together as a system. We want something that is going to set ourselves up for success throughout the season. We want to start clean, emerge strong and ultimately get the most out of your soybeans.
“While you typically won’t see RCR or SDS until reproductive stages, those pathogens have been in the plant since its early stages; the infection happened months ago. This is why we use seed treatments to protect against these two diseases,” Geiger says. “Some seed treatments can reduce root mass and stand, and who would want that? You need a seed treatment that offers protection and plant-health improvements.”
Geiger recommends CruiserMaxx® APX and Saltro® seed treatments to protect your soybeans. CruiserMaxx APX delivers the most powerful Pythium and Phytophthora protection and helps soybeans emerge stronger and healthier. Saltro provides additional protection against SDS, SCN and RCR.
In addition to upgraded protection, Saltro also delivers MagniSafe™ technology for plant-health improvements and crop vigor that helps boost potential yield — even in little to no known disease or pest pressures.
Geiger also recommends starting clean with an equally strong pre-emergent herbicide such as Tendovo®, which offers three active ingredients to help control more than 70 yield-robbing weeds, including waterhemp.
“Ideally you want to spray Tendovo right after you’ve planted your treated soybeans to prevent weeds from emerging and competing with your soybeans for valuable resources. Then follow it up with a timely post-emergence plus residual application,” Geiger says. “The goal is to have herbicide activity in the soil until you close the rows.”
Dinkla says Saltro and Tendovo pair well together because they both offer exceptional crop safety along with powerful protection.
“When we look at a soybean acre it is not just focusing on one thing. From Seedcare to herbicides, everything works together as a system,” Dinkla says. “We want something that is going to set ourselves up for success throughout the season. We want to start clean, emerge strong and ultimately get the most out of your soybeans.”
To learn more about CruiserMaxx APX, Saltro and or Tendovo, talk to your local Syngenta retailer today or visit Syngenta-US.com/BetterYield.
Syngenta supports a FIFRA Section 2(ee) recommendation for Saltro for suppression of Red Crown Rot in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee. Please see the Section 2(ee) recommendation to confirm that the recommendation is applicable in your state. The Section 2(ee) recommendation for Saltro should be in the possession of the user at the time of application.
- Soybean growers may experience another season of high levels of Red Crown Rot, Sudden Death Syndrome and weeds.
- Plan 2025 soybean crop protection now to maximize ROI potential.
- Crop safety, early-season protection and improved ROI potential are some of the benefits of CruiserMaxx® APX and Saltro® seed treatments and Tendovo® herbicide.
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