Multi-Year Soybean Singulation Study

The more you plant, the more you harvest. Right?

This was the old philosophy when it came to soybeans, but we’ve been taking a closer look. What we’re finding is that more soybeans in the ground does not necessarily lead to a higher yield come harvest.

And so we took to the PTI Farm to test singulation with our 56-hole disc in comparison to a more traditional, more densely populated 80-hole disc.

Proper singulation is when you get that picket fence row with plenty of spacing between the plants to hopefully lead to extra nodes, more mature plants, and a higher yield.

Traditional meters for soybeans can lead to skips, doubles, and ultimately loss of yield because they need constant adjustment. We found that our 56-hole crop kit disc achieved higher yields year after year, for an average increase of 1.03 Bu/A across all five years. This equates to an $11.96/A advantage over the 80-hole disc.

When it comes down to the numbers, you can upgrade to the 56-hole disc and ejector wheel for around $16.00 per row (if you already have a singulator). With the results we’ve seen, it would take a grower approximately 22 acres on a 16-row planter to break even.

This is a low-cost investment that can have a real impact on your soybean yield!

In-Depth Study Videos

Study Details 

Study data collected 2019-2023 at the PTI Farm in Pontiac, IL.