URBANDALE, Iowa - If you are rushing to place your seed order before the end of the year, but are still puzzling over the wide variety of options available, here are a few tips to guide you in choosing the best soybean seed for next year's bumper crop.

The first step in maximizing profit per acre is choosing the varieties for your farm that will increase your overall productivity, according to the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA).

“Look at Iowa State University yield trial data for unbiased results,” says Dr. David Wright, director of contract research for ISA. “However, you should keep in mind that not all commercial varieties are entered into those trials. There are also other independent and well run yield trials that do a good job of indicating yield potential. In addition, ask your seed dealer to show you multi-year company yield data for all varieties they are recommending.”

Palle Pedersen, Iowa State University soybean Extension agronomist, agrees, saying, “To minimize risk when selecting a variety it is important to get yield data from replicated trials and from numerous locations. That will help identify a stable, high yielding variety.”

Wright adds, “Growers must develop a portfolio of high yielding soybean varieties that address the pathogens in their fields. A high percentage of those varieties should have defensive traits such as resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and sudden death syndrome (SDS). It’s important to match the agronomics of soybean varieties with the challenges you face on your farm.”

A recent survey conducted by Iowa State University found that greater than 70 percent of Iowa fields tested positive for soybean cyst nematode, the nation’s number one yield robber. Sudden death syndrome isn’t quite as severe, but it is catching up quickly.

Wright suggests that in Iowa, the top four traits to look for when selecting soybean seed are:

1. High yield potential
2. Yield stability across environments
3. Effective resistance to SCN
4. Field tolerance to sudden death syndrome.

In addition, he recommends that growers strongly consider insecticide seed treatment when planting early to control bean leaf beetle.

Finally, Wright says the surest way to find out how soybean varieties will yield on your farm is to give them a test run. “Test your top five choices on your farm in strip or small field trials,” he says. “It’s important to remember that effective performance against diseases like SCN, sudden death syndrome, frogeye leaf spot and brown stem rot vary from variety to variety. These diseases, when left uncontrolled, typically rob producers of 5 to 10 bushels per acre. On-farm testing is the surest way to evaluate varieties against these diseases.”