WINGATE, Ind. — Soybean-after-soybean planting on a seed test site in Montgomery County resulted in some decent yields for several varieties this summer.

The Farmer’s Independent Research of Seed Technologies (F.I.R.S.T.) of Illinois planted 45 new soybean varieties on a test site the Wingate farm of Steve and Matt Stine, to rank their performance this year. The seeds were sown in May 6 at 170,000 per acre, and the Oct. 12 harvest yielded an average of 97,400 plants per acre.

The top yielder in this test was Ebberts variety 2342RR2 with 75.3 bushels per acre. This brand achieved a per-acre gross income of $1,167 and had a moisture content of 12 percent.

The average yield for all 45 varieties tested was 64.6 bushels per acre, average gross income was $1,002 and average moisture hovered around 12 percent, too.

Coming in with the second-highest test yield was LG Seeds variety C3989R2 at 72.3 bushels and a gross income of $1,121. Third was Specialty 3585CR2 with a yield of 71.9 bushels and a per-acre income of $1,115. Moisture content for these ranged from 11.5-12 percent.

Test site conditions were sandy clay loam well drained and non-irrigated, with moderately high P and K and a pH of 6.3. As previously mentioned, the previous crop were soybeans, as well.

“This spring, it was tough to achieve the population that you wanted,” said F.I.R.S.T. Site Manager Rich Schleuning. “In mid-July plants were 37 inches tall, with good pod set and still flowering.

“At harvest, some varieties had elongated to 58 inches tall; there was some light lodging, but not bad, considering the plant heights.”

The summer’s drought did take its toll, however. “Bean moisture was dry, with heavy shatter loss on taller plants,” he reported.