With irrigation, these fields still are holding up very well. Cooler temperatures and moisture will be required to set a crop when these fields move into reproductive stages. B. Fields in Flowering, Pod Set, and Pod Filling Stages Moisture stress at every stage of plant development can reduce seed yields but the extent of yield reduction from water stress varies with stage development. Fields planted in April and early May should be in pod filling stages and weather conditions are critical for further development. Except in northeast Oklahoma where rainfall has been somewhat normal, many fields of early planted soybeans have very few pods.
Some fields have no pods set at all and have reached the end of a blooming period.
The extreme temperatures and dry conditions are taking a tremendous toll on this crop. A temperature of around 86 F is desirable and temperatures have been running from 10 to 15 higher than that. Growers thinking about taking a hay crop rather than risk waiting for more favorable conditions should assess crop growth stage as they make management decisions. Full Bloom Soybeans are better able to escape the effects of hot, dry weather conditions than other crops such as corn. Corn flowers over a short period but soybeans produce more flowers than pods and flower over a long period of time.