Soybean Planting Date Study
Planting date plays significant role in field crop production. Early or late planting may decrease grain yield and quality of a crop due to increased biotic (insect, disease, weed, and bird incidence), and/or abiotic stress (frost, drought, and high temperature). Northwestern North Dakota has a cool semi-arid climate with annual precipitation of <13 inches. The long-term weather data shows that, in this region, the last spring freeze may occur in the last week of April and the first fall freeze in October. There is a need of determining an optimal soybean planting dates and soil temperature for Northwestern ND that provide optimal growing period, decrease chances of frost and/or drought damage, and enhance grain yield.
