After 20+ years of no tilling beans I decided to try something different last year. Our heavy clay can and usually does crust over bad if a heavy rain comes before emergence. I raised the planting depth way up on a JD 7240 planter, have 2 holes showing on the depth adjuster, and had the best beans I ever had. 2 fields had a 4" downpour in 3 hrs. 2 days after planting. They made it through the crust and no replanting was required. These 2 fields have a 46 bpa average and went 56 and 51 bpa. The lower yielding field is more in need of tile. The fields that either didn't get the monsoon on them or emerged before it also did well. It seemed like the seeds drew the moisture from below up to them It would be interesting to know others thoughts on planting depths. I think this is 1 of the most important decisions one can make when planting.
I agree. One inch is usually best for me in my medium loam topsoil. If I think it is going to rain, I plant a little shallower, if it is a dry spell I plant a little deeper.
We haven't planted 30" rows here since the 70s. About 1980 we all went to drilled beans when sencor and treflan came on the market. Then the early 90s went to no-till drills. 2004 I tried a 15" split row planter and now everybody except 1 in my area is planting beans this way. I plant 200,000 population in this heavy clay because of emergence difficulties. I am thinking of cutting back some this year as these RR2 beans seem so much better. They averaged 9 bpa more than my standby RR1 beans.
I struggle with this decision every year. I plant in 15" rows with no trashwippers and heavy residue from the previous corn crop. I have to set for around 2" because with all the trash, and a few clods, there is so much inconsistency from one seed to the next. If I set for 1.5" or less I'll have some beans on top of the ground. I'm only planting around 5.5 MPH and still see alot of this. Even planting as deep as I do theres still a small percentage of seeds that do not get planted into moisture. I always seem to luck out and catch a timely rain....one of these years we'll miss that and I hope I end up with a decent stand.
See that's the problem. So much variance. The new Deere planters have constant air down pressure but I haven't heard if that's the answer. I plant the end rows 1st and check the depth. If I'm at 3/4" on the ends which is usually the hardest part of the field I plant the rest and don't look back.
