1997 - Volume #21, Issue #3, Page #37
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They're Sold On Twin-Row Soybeans
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"The high population varieties we like to plant at 150,000 to 200,000 seeds per acre didn't produce well in 30 in. rows because of overcrowding, while solid-seeded beans developed white mold. Our 15-in. rowed beans fell somewhere between," says Dave Roggenbuck.
Twin-rowed beans don't develop serious white mold problems like solid-seeded beans because of the 22 1/2-in. spacings between pairs of rows, the Snover, Mich., farmers note. Likewise, because the twinned rows support each other, they don't lodge in bad years like beans planted in 30-in. rows, they add.
Best of all, twin rows yield 3 to 5 bu. per acre better than 30-in. rowed beans, the same yield advantage produced by drilling soybeans.
To plant the twin rows 7 1/2 in. apart on 30-in. centers, the Roggenbucks built their own 12-row planter. It's equipped with two United Farm Tools (UFT) grain drill double disk openers per row.
Before planting, the Roggenbucks strip-till a clean 10-in. strip over each row using a Row-Tech Trans-Till toolbar which they invented. It combines what they feel are the best features of conventional and no-till planting equipment (Vol. 18, No. 4). They also typically inject 6 gpa of 10-34-0 at a depth of about 6 1/2 in. below where seed will be placed.
"In bad years, twin row beans really shine, yielding as much as 10 bu. per acre higher than 30-in. rowed beans.
"Some of that's attributable to variety, Group 0 to Mid-Group 2's, some to reduced lodging, and some to the fertilizer we put down before planting and the warmer seed-bed produced by Trans-Till," Dave says.
Twin rows provide more room to spray than solid-seeded or 15-in. rowed beans, he notes.
"As for harvesting, twin rows clip and feed nicely through our TR-97 New Holland combine equipped with Crary air reel. Plus, there's better visibility between rows than there is with solid-seeded or 15-in. beans," Dave adds.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Roggenbuck, 645 North Germania Rd., Snover, Mich. 48472 (ph 810 672-9383).
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