Wheat in the northern areas are maturing and being harvested, while wheat crops in the central and southern areas are just beginning to reproduce. Current yield projections for Argentina's 1999-00 wheat crop have been above trend line averages, but they could start to decrease if dry weather persists. However, to be a good marketer it's important to understand certain basic items. Soybeans are a new crop for many North Dakota growers and are being introduced into areas where there is no history of soybean production. Soybeans may need additional nitrogen fertilizer if soil nitrate levels are low and there is no previous history of soybeans, he says.
Inoculation alone is sometimes inadequate the first time soybeans are grown.
Goos searched the literature to see how scientists in other parts of the world approached this problem. He found that in Brazil, where soybeans were also introduced into totally new areas, agronomists had successfully established adequate numbers of soybean rhizobia in the soil by inoculating rice or wheat seed the year before soybeans were to be grown. To test the idea, Goos went to the Dickinson area, an area with no history of soybeans. Goos and Pat Carr, agronomist at NDSU's Dickinson Research Extension Center, performed both greenhouse and field experiments to test the theory. The researchers grew spring wheat with and without treating the seed with commercial soybean inoculant at the same rate recommended for soybean seed.