(ND Ag Connection) – North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension steps into the new crop season with a valuable resource for farmers and crop advisers. The 2023 soybean and dry bean variety guides are now available, providing crucial data for making informed decisions for the upcoming 2024 crop season.

These guides, which can be accessed online at ndsu.ag/varietytrials23 or in printed form at NDSU Extension County offices and Research Extension Centers, offer a wealth of information.

Greg Endres, NDSU Extension agronomist and the lead author of these guides, emphasizes the significance of crop variety selection in optimizing seed yield and quality. He encourages farmers to dedicate time to research and select the best varieties for their fields. The data in these guides is a result of extensive efforts by NDSU crop breeders, agronomists, and support staff.

The soybean guide includes 33 tables of agronomic data, seed yield, and quality data from 28 research sites across North Dakota. The tables categorize varieties based on herbicide resistance or conventional traits.

It also provides crucial information on plant maturity, tolerance to iron-deficiency chlorosis, disease resistance, and herbicide-resistance traits. The guide lists 26 seed companies that participated in the NDSU trials, complete with their website links for further details.

For dry bean producers, the new guide offers data from 20 variety trials conducted in North Dakota and Minnesota. This guide is particularly rich in data for pinto bean varieties but also includes information on other classes like black, navy, and cranberry beans.

A new feature in this year’s guide is the inclusion of a table indicating direct-harvest ratings for pinto beans, along with an expanded list of varieties and their sources.

These comprehensive guides are an essential tool for those in the agricultural sector, assisting in making well-informed variety selections for the 2024 crop season.