Got your beans all off Jeff?
Cousin had a terrible time with his, beans where down to 11% and the pods where starting to open up, yet the stupid stalks still had some green in them. Made for hard combining.
Too bad not all Deeres are made in the U.S.A.
We finished beans on about the 9th.,ours wern't as bad as some areas but we had parts of some fields with leaves on and the beans tested 11%.
Here is part of an E-mail that our Pioneer dealer sent me showing what they think causes it.
1. Environmental stress: Fields that suffered moisture stress mid-season or earlier and then had moisture in early August tend to have increased amounts of green stems. Also areas that had wide fluctuations in soil moisture from dry to wet have observed this syndrome. These same fields have reported beans coming in at 10% moisture while the beans in the top pods are still wet.
Work done in Kentucky (Egli, 2006) demonstrated that reducing pod count on plants greatly increased green stems. The theory behind this result is the plant had excess sugar accumulation in the stem that could not be converted to seed production. This Any factor that reduces pod count earlier in the season (heat or moisture stress, insect damage or disease) followed by favorable seed filling conditions in August – September could increase chances of green stem syndrome.
2. Virus infections: Several viruses can infect soybeans including Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV), Soybean mosaic (SMV), Tobacco streak virus (TSV) and others. However, green stem syndrome is not always associated with virus infection. Work done by the University of Illinois in 2001-2002 found no strong correlation between BPMV infection and green stems. Typically, SMV infections cause both pods and stems to be immature along with stunted pod development. Viruses need an vector (typically an insect) to move the virus from plant to plant. This means that significant virus infections are often associated with higher insect infestations (aphids, Bean leaf beetle or thrips).
3. Insect damage: Stink bugs can feed directly on pods as well as stems. Their feeding damage is not obvious but may be noted by shriveled seeds in pods and an increase in damaged seed in a grain sample. Green and Brown stink bugs are the most common species found in soybeans in the central Corn Belt. Be alert to other pod feeding insects such as Bean leaf beetle in fields with Green stems.
Anyway we're done except for the double crop beans we planted after harvester pickles and wheat.
JEFF