4 Steps to Early-Season Soybean Success

As soybean planting season approaches, setting the stage for a successful crop begins with early-season management. Ensuring strong emergence and healthy crop development requires attention to several key areas, including planting conditions, fertility, weed control and pest management. Let’s dive into four steps you can take to support your early-season soybean crop. 

1.    Reduce Stress on Emerging Seedlings

As planting dates continue moving earlier in the season, cooler soil temperatures present additional challenges to manage. While planting early does help maximize the growing season and yield potential, it also can put the crop at risk for reduced stands or susceptibility to soil-borne diseases. Investing in premium seed treatments that include multiple fungicide modes of action can help mitigate some of these challenges in early-planted fields. 

Biological products can also be added to soybean seed treatments to help enhance root development and microbial activity in the root zone, that can help increase early-season stress tolerance. A more vigorous root system improves nutrient and water uptake, which is particularly beneficial early in the season when conditions may be less than ideal. 

Seed selection is another effective way to manage early-season crop stress. Use variety ratings to understand the early-season agronomics and disease tolerance of different seed products. CROPLAN® WinPak® soybeans combine two varieties with complementary agronomic characteristics to help spread risk and enhance yield stability. They’re a unique concept in soybeans, designed to handle field variability across both highly productive and stressed environments to help maximize ROI potential across diverse conditions. 

2.    Don’t Forget the Sulfur

 

A solid fertility foundation is vital to achieving high-yielding soybeans, and that starts early in the season. Ensuring that nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels are adequate is key, with a particular focus on potash for robust soybean growth. 

Many farmers already include sulfur in their corn fertility plans, but it can also benefit soybeans. Over the past several decades, soil sulfur deficiencies have become more common due to less atmospheric sulfur being deposited from industrial emissions and higher nutrient removal rates from high-yielding crops. 

Sulfur contributes to soybean yield potential by optimizing photosynthetic efficiency for more grain production. It also supports grain quality by improving seed protein levels and oil concentrations.¹ Applying 15 to 25 pounds of sulfur around planting or early post-emergence can support strong early growth and may improve nutrient uptake.² Research from Purdue University suggests soybeans can have an average of 8 to 11 bushels per acre response to sulfur fertilizer, depending on planting date and soil type.²

3.    Set High Standards for Weed Control

Weed control is the management practice that can make or break the soybean crop yield. A clean start is crucial for soybean success. Anything less than 100% weed control could threaten crop yield, making starting clean and staying clean throughout the season essential. Set the bar high early on, and you won’t spend your season chasing weeds.

Applying layered residual herbicides at planting helps maintain weed-free fields and reduces competition for vital nutrients. Effective early-season weed control also takes pressure off postemergence applications when managing larger weeds may be more difficult. 

4.    Stay One Step Ahead of Diseases

Protecting soybean seedlings from early-season disease threats is one critical component. As mentioned, premium seed treatments can safeguard emerging seedlings from common soybean diseases. If you have a history of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans, consider using a seed treatment specifically for SDS protection. The disease originates early in the season but may not manifest until later in the reproductive stages when treatment isn’t effective. Investing in a strong early-season disease prevention plan, which includes disease-tolerant seed varieties, can help promote a healthier crop throughout the growing season. 

While early-season disease management is one essential aspect, maintaining plant health through the reproductive stages is equally important. Fungicide applications at R3 (beginning pod) and R5 (pod fill) stages can enhance pod retention and fill, leading to potentially higher yields. If a one-pass fungicide approach is used, R3 is an optimal timing. However, in some situations, a two-pass fungicide strategy may be necessary to maximize disease protection and yield potential.

Start Strong on Day One

A full-acre soybean management approach that integrates seed, fertility management, weed control and pest mitigation helps support stronger early-season soybean performance and potential higher yields at harvest. Contact your local agronomic advisor or CROPLAN retailer for soybean seed placement and management recommendations to carry you through a successful season.  

<sub>1 Balbes, L. Putting the S in your soybeans (where S = sulfur). 2022. Soybean Research and Information Network.
2 Casteel, S. Soybeans have an additional need for sulfur not present in corn, wheat. March 2024. Indiana Corn and Soybean Post. 

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© 2025 WinField United. Important: Before use always read and follow label instructions. Crop performance is dependent on several factors many of which are beyond the control of WinField United, including without limitation, soil type, pest pressures, agronomic practices and weather conditions. Growers are encouraged to consider data from multiple locations, over multiple years and to be mindful of how such agronomic conditions could impact results. CROPLAN, WinField and WinPak are trademarks of WinField United.</sub>