FarmerDan
5 year old buck +
It might just be because I wonder, too. One of the most asked questions is how to keep soybeans green late into the season. And, while there are some logical answers, like plant forage 'beans or just plant 'beans a month before you want them to be 'attractive,' I wonder if planting a full season (or short?) from a maturity group intended for a zone much further south (or, is it north?) of me would be of any value?
My wife says I'm a complicated guy, but I can't work my way thru this one. Without getting into everything I think I need to get, I'm in Group IV. Naturally, we go buy our seed and what's available are varieties best suited for yield, Group IV beans.
As I understand it, there are two main factors pushing soybean development - temperature and photoperiod (length of day). Forget temperature for a moment.
The decreasing day length is what triggers flowering. I don't know if this is correct for short, medium, and long season beans, but I'll say (sorta' correctly) 'bean vegetative growth continues for 30-40 days after flowering begins. When vegetative growth stops so does the attractiveness of soybeans as forage for deer.
Back to the soybean groups. For ag production, as I mentioned above, I'm in group IV. For my latitude here are some "photoperiod" (length of day) facts -
On June 30 in central VA we have 14.28 hours of daylight. A month later we are down to 13.87 and a month after that 12.98. I'd propose it's the rate of change in the amount of daylight that triggers flowering and determines the end of vegetative growth -- but I don't know. In July the average daily decrease in daylight is about half a minute a day. In August it's about a minute a day and in September it jumps up to a - minute-and-a-half.
To find the same rate of change later in the growing season south is the direction to look. For me, if I'm right (probably not as it's always more complicated) planting a full season group V or VI in my group IV zone later than would be common for ag production would maximize forage production (at the expense of 'bean production?)
I don't know. i'm sure there are lots of details I'm missing and my assumptions could be all wet. For obvious reasons, all the research is aimed at 'bean yields and not forage yields!
Is there any merit to this?
My wife says I'm a complicated guy, but I can't work my way thru this one. Without getting into everything I think I need to get, I'm in Group IV. Naturally, we go buy our seed and what's available are varieties best suited for yield, Group IV beans.
As I understand it, there are two main factors pushing soybean development - temperature and photoperiod (length of day). Forget temperature for a moment.
The decreasing day length is what triggers flowering. I don't know if this is correct for short, medium, and long season beans, but I'll say (sorta' correctly) 'bean vegetative growth continues for 30-40 days after flowering begins. When vegetative growth stops so does the attractiveness of soybeans as forage for deer.
Back to the soybean groups. For ag production, as I mentioned above, I'm in group IV. For my latitude here are some "photoperiod" (length of day) facts -
On June 30 in central VA we have 14.28 hours of daylight. A month later we are down to 13.87 and a month after that 12.98. I'd propose it's the rate of change in the amount of daylight that triggers flowering and determines the end of vegetative growth -- but I don't know. In July the average daily decrease in daylight is about half a minute a day. In August it's about a minute a day and in September it jumps up to a - minute-and-a-half.
To find the same rate of change later in the growing season south is the direction to look. For me, if I'm right (probably not as it's always more complicated) planting a full season group V or VI in my group IV zone later than would be common for ag production would maximize forage production (at the expense of 'bean production?)
I don't know. i'm sure there are lots of details I'm missing and my assumptions could be all wet. For obvious reasons, all the research is aimed at 'bean yields and not forage yields!
Is there any merit to this?