Wheat-soybean double crop management in Missouri

"Double cropping soybeans after winter wheat has grown in popularity and feasibility in much of Missouri. This cropping system has several advantages. A crop, growing on the land all year, provides control of soil erosion. If you spread annual fixed costs such as land, taxes, and machinery over two crops instead of one, you increase gross returns per acre with relatively low increases in production costs. Thus, you can increase profits per acre. A successful wheat-soybean double crop depends on management and weather conditions. Establishing an adequate soybean stand and effective weed control are critical. In north Missouri, there are few days left in the season after wheat harvest for planting soybeans, and that's a constraint. So knowing the conditions to which doublecropping is best adapted will provide for a successful second crop. Also, it will enable you to avoid those years of high risk."--First page.Harry C. Minor, Zane R. Helsel, and Sean McCrate (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture)New 10/83/10