The shot to the right shows how important planting depth is in establishing good soybean stands.The beans to the left of the yellow line were seeded 1 3/4 inches deep while those to the right were seeded nearly 2 3/4 inches deep.

The photo to the right is a lateral view of the shot above.The soybeans below the yellow line were planted nearly 2 3/4 inches deep while the soybeans above the yellow line were planted 1 3/4 inches deep.As you can see the deeper planted soybeans took longer to emerge and didn't establish as good a plant stand.This clearly demonstrates how important seeding depth can be. Attention to planting depth is a vital management consideration in the successful establishment of any good soybean stand.

The smaller shorter soybeans in the photo to the left were planted 3/4 inch deep in soil that was not fit this spring.The drill actually left slits in the soil and in some cases the soybeans were laying in an exposed seed trench.Heavy rains eventually washed soil into the seed trench covering the beans.Crusted soil then made it difficult for the beans to emerge.You can see evidence of their struggle to emerge by the amount of twisting evident in their hypocotyls.The soybeans to the left were planted in much drier soil at a depth of 1 1/2 inches.These beans started their germination process immediately and due to their growth were well on their way to emerging when the heavy rains hit.You can see that they emerged without much of a struggle as their hypocotyls are straight and true. Planting depth is a vital consideration in producing good soybean stands and top yields.