Yields have averaged more than 50 bushels per acre from a 50-acre, irrigated test plot over the past four years, Ashlock said. The field is kept flooded through the winter to suppress weeds, which also provides winter waterfowl habitat. The field is drained the day before seeding to provide a soupy texture in the clayey soil so the seed will drive into the soil when dropped from about 100 feet at a seeding rate of 70 pounds per acre. The goal is to plant in April and harvest in August. Ashlock reported on performance tests of early-maturing soybean varieties, including some rated much earlier than those currently used by most growers.
Most varieties planted early in Arkansas are in the mid to late four or early five maturity groups.
Ashlock said varieties from early three to early four maturity groups are performing well in tests at Rohwer and other locations. A major change for cotton growers in southeast Arkansas is the boll weevil eradication program now underway. Eradicating the boll weevil will allow use of less insecticides, long-term. A short-term effect may be changes in the balance of some populations of insect pests and the beneficial species that keep them in check. Entomologist Marwan Kharboutli said an unusual shift in the species of thrips this spring caused problems for growers.