ATLANTA Ind. – It’s no secret that when it comes to fungicide applications in soybeans, timing is a critical factor. According to Beck’s Practical Farm Research (PFR)® seven-year data, applying a fungicide at the R3 growth stage shows a return on investment of $17.68 per acre.

Beck’s, the largest family-owned retail seed company, launched PFR in 1964 with a goal to provide a practical agronomic research program that helps farmers with decisions that can improve profitability. For years, Beck’s PFR has evaluated fungicide products and practices. Fungicides primarily prevent or mitigate disease pressure, but they can also increase water use efficiency, photosynthesis, nitrate reductase activity, increase the window for grain fill, and improve stress tolerance.

“The R3 growth stage is the key time to apply a fungicide in soybeans and will last approximately 10 days, said Travis Burnett, field agronomist at Beck’s. “It’s crucial to target this window to experience a consistent response year in, year out.”

Nearly 70 percent of a soybean plant’s yield comes from nodes six to 13. Many of the uppermost nodes of this region of the plant do not exist at R2 (full flower); therefore, a fungicide application this early has a limited impact on pod retention and seed size. Conversely, at R4 (full pod), many of the lower nodes of this region are too far along in pod development for a fungicide to have a meaningful impact.

In 2017, Beck’s developed the PFR Proven™ endorsement. For a product or practice to become PFR Proven, it must be tested for three years at multiple locations, provide a positive yield gain each year, and average a positive return on investment over the three-year period. Fungicide timing is one of five PFR Proven success strategies for soybeans.

Beck’s PFR data also found that the time of day a fungicide application is made can also significantly impact final soybean yields. Three-year multi-location fungicide time of day showed a $12.97 per acre advantage when sprayed at 8 a.m. versus $7.63 per acre at 3 p.m.

“By applying fungicide at 8 a.m. after a heavy dew when the stomates of the plant are open, we have seen additional coverage on the soybean plant,” said Collin Scherer, PFR location lead at Beck’s. “This additional coverage also has the potential for reduced carrier rates. PFR data indicates that 15 to 20 gallons of carrier rate is the sweet spot.”

In 2022, Beck’s launched “The DIG”, a video series dedicated to breaking down some of Beck’s most popular and profitable PFR studies in a way that is fun, easy to follow, and easy for farmers to implement on their own farm. In a recent episode viewers can learn what makes up a profitable fungicide pass.

For more information about Beck’s PFR, products, services, or dealer network, please visit www.beckshybrids.com or call 800-937-2325.