Fungicide holds the answer to soybean yield question

MARKLE, Ind. — Higher commodity prices change the questions around soybean yields.

“Ask yourself, ‘what am I giving up if I don’t do everything to maximize my yields this year?’” said Chad Threewits, Syngenta agronomy service representative for Indiana.

As prices for soybeans rise, Threewits said growers need to look at what they can lose by not doing all they can to improve plant health and maximize yield.

“When you talk about $14 to $16 soybeans, every bushel that you give up is really impactful. The question becomes ‘how much do I give up if I am not doing everything I can to really maximize yields this year?’” he said.

Fungicides, like Miravis® Top from Syngenta, hold the key to help reap more soybean bushels.

Disease control of yield-robbing diseases like frogeye leaf spot is a well-known benefit of fungicides. Preserving and maintaining plant health through stressful periods is an additional benefit and one that can preserve and help increase potential yield.

“We are maximizing that grain-fill period. In soybeans, if there’s an August where we don’t have the rain and it dries out, the soybean plants start to shut down. What we’ve seen with fungicide applications, with Miravis Top, is it helps keep that plant green, reduces the stress and utilizes the water it does have. Miravis Top can help keep the plant healthy enough to hang on so if we receive rainfall later, that late August rain, it can help boost potential yield,” Threewits said.

Correct application timing plays a major role.

“You should aim for an application at R3, which is when soybeans are reproducing and setting pods,” Threewits said.

Threewits urges the growers he works with to have a regular scouting schedule in order to hit that correct fungicide application window and apply before diseases take over.

“In corn, you can look and see if it’s setting ears and do a scout and spray approach. That’s much harder to do on soybeans. In soybeans, before you actually see the disease, it’s there, and it may be too late. We are past the point where we are putting pods on, pod set, and yield is already being determined,” Threewits said.

While most fungicides are applied with prevention in mind, Miravis Top, with two active ingredients — difenoconazole and ADEPIDYN® technology — is designed to be curative, as well as preventative.

“Miravis Top has really strong curative activity. So, if you do have something like frogeye leaf spot and you start to see some low levels of disease, we can still do a really good job of stopping that disease once it comes in. It is really a timing game,” Threewits said.

To learn more about Miravis Top, visit BoostYourBushels.com.

Product performance assumes disease presence. Performance assessments are based upon results or analysis of public information, field observations and/or internal Syngenta evaluations.

©2021 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration status. ADEPIDYN® and Miravis® are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.

This column was contributed by Indiana AgriNews for Syngenta.